FusionFall: Rewrite
by TimeFactor
Summary: *Discontinued. Kyle, a teen boy haunted by his past for six years, one day decides to participate in Dexter's time travel experiment. What he didn't expect was for it to turn into a grand adventure to save the Cartoon Network Universe and rewrite history.
1. Where It All Began

**UPDATE (January 22, 2014): This story is discontinued and it is **_**highly unlikely**_** that I will ever finish it due to a number of reasons including complete loss of interest in the game, moving onto other fandoms, and college life. Please do not beg or try to persuade me to come back; it'll just fall on deaf ears.**

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><p><em><strong>FusionFall: Rewrite<strong>_

**Chapter 1 - Where It All Began**

**Author Notes: **

Welcome to _FusionFall: Rewrite_, an attempt to restart my other fanfic, _Fusion Fall: Unlimited Adventures,_ from scratch. This is essentially an adaption of the game's storyline but with my own changes and story additions thrown in as well. One of the my original aims when writing this story was to further expand on the Cartoon Network characters' involvement (instead of the game's usual "Hey, X! Go do this for me by yourself!") so expect large amounts of "Hero teams up with X to defeat Y". Other aims are to include characters who are not present in the actual game and give them some spotlight for a change, whether they show up again or not. Examples of these include members of the cast of Camp Lazlo, My Gym Partner's a Monkey, and Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi.

Reviews (especially negative ones since I never seem to have gotten one...) are kindly appreciated. I am also open to suggestions, but please do not suggest how the story should end. That's already settled if I ever get to it. Also if you do suggest an idea, please note I can be very critical of them and not accept them. I honestly blame my personal tastes for that.

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><p>The world of Aetas, a world filled with varieties of people. A world where superheroes battling supervillains is quite common or even part of a daily basis, one where humans and talking anthropomorphic animals co-exist with each other, one where ancient and powerful magic can be utilized to their maximum potential. It's a place filled with numerous possibilities: aliens, giant robots, demons, large technological advancements, supernatural phenomenon, parallel dimensions, and much more. Finally, there's the concept of time travel itself where our story begins.<p>

Townsville, a lively metropolitan city located on the planet's southwestern continent. The city had always been plagued with constant attacks by various villains. A genius mad scientist monkey, a spoiled wannabe rich kid, a green-skinned, snake-like gang, and giant monsters were just a few among the many examples of them. Despite this factor, the citizens were still able to live their semi-normal lives thanks to a trio of superpowered females thwarting their every plan time and time again. Progressively in recent years, the city had been growing in popularity and importance. Various organizations had founded and set up headquarters or control centers within the city. One of these organizations was Dexlabs, a company centered within the northeast district of the city commonly referred to as "Technology Square" or "Tech Square" for short.

Dexlabs had a considerable amount of influence over Townsville and the whole modern world. The company was founded by young teenager named Dexter when he was only fifteen-years-old. A genius young prodigy from the suburban town of Genius Grove located northeast of Townsville, he brought forth many technological advancements people thought were years ahead of their time. Hovercars, flying billboards, and any other kind flying or hovering technology became much more common. Almost anything that was considered modern instantly became a thing of the past.

Even though Dexter revolutionized the world with his inventions, people who were smart enough knew he was hiding something from the public. Dexter had always made public appearances at science conventions to discuss his latest developments, but other than that, not a single person ever recalled seeing the boy outside his laboratory aside from a few rare and strange occasions. A few journalists who picked up on this fact and tried questioning the boy were immediately turned away by Dexlab representatives. This only made people more suspicious.

It wasn't until later when this personal secret came into a small light. Dexter had published an ad in many media sources asking for a volunteer to test his newest invention, but not a single person was willing to do it. To them, it was peculiar that Dexter was asking for a volunteer. They had always assumed Dexter had plenty of people who were willing to participate in his experiments. Now that the boy genius was asking for one of them, it seemed like this experiment seemed too risky for even Dexlab employees. The attempt at attracting someone to participate seemed like a failure until that fateful day...

Technology Square, the center point of almost all scientific breakthroughs, was bustling with activity as usual. Various men and women wearing business suits and lab coats were strolling building to building holding briefcases and portfolios in their hands, not speaking a word as they passed each other. The color of their attire usually signified which company they worked for. Blue and white symbolized Dexlabs, red and black symbolized Mandark Industries, and any other color symbolized a third party or a neutral standing. Mandark Industries was Dexlabs' rival competitor. It was founded by another genius prodigy named Mandark, Dexter's long time enemy who only founded the industries to rival his. Mandark Industries didn't share the same standing as Dexlabs, but it was still just as popular. Technology Square was basically divided in half due to the rivalry between the two companies, Dexlabs to the west and Mandark Industries to the east.

Within the center of this district was a small park which was a popular attraction for the public. A teenage boy was walking around holding a small city map in his hand struggling to find his way around. He had lived in the city for years, but almost never ventured into this district of Townsville. The boy wore a white shirt with a red unzipped sports jacket over it, blue pants, and black sneakers with white stripes. A snow white cap covered his short, thick black hair. On the cap was a large "D" drawn with black paint. The same symbol was also on the boy's shirt but larger. He continued wandering around trying to make head or tails of where he was.

"Need some assistance?" a voice suddenly asked him.

The boy looked up to see a random passing by man. Dressed in a dark green suit and holding a briefcase, he looked like he was on a way to a business meeting. The man's serious expression and dark sunglasses intimidated the boy somewhat.

"Um, yeah... I'm trying to find Dexlabs."

"Dexlabs, huh?" the man asked suspiciously. "I hardly see any people your age having business in a facility like that... In any case, it's this way, down this path."

The man pointed in the westward direction towards a stone pathway.

"Thanks for the help."

The boy headed down the direction he was told. The man watched as he disappeared into the distance. Fixing his sunglasses, he turned and walked off in the opposite direction where a white-colored airship awaited him.

The boy came to the park's exit and found himself standing on one side of a busy street. Directly across, he could see the Dexlabs building brightly illuminated with flashing lights. Standing a dozen stories high, it was one of the most uniquely designed buildings in the district. It was dark blue and white in color, but with shades of green here and there. A small waterfall and fountain court were located to the right of the entrance as well as nice garden scenery scattered around the building. A small distance to the left of the roof's center stood a small control tower-like structure with various kinds of satellite dishes. A skybridge lead off into another section of a building that seemed to contain an elevator back down to the main section.

Finished staring in wonder, the boy calmly walked toward the entrance. The archway had a large darkened window in the center. The boy couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him from it. He thought he could vaguely see a figure of a female standing there but shrugged it off as part of his imagination. Now standing at the front doors, the boy pushed the glowing green buzzer and waited a few minutes for a reply... Nothing. Getting impatient, he pushed it again twice to make sure the person got the message.

_"...Guess he doesn't want to see me."_

Giving up, he finally decided to leave.

"Wait!" a voice exclaimed behind the boy as he approached the street.

Another male around his age stood at the now opening doorway, clearly out of breath. Dressed in a white lab coat, he gave a warm smile to the boy. He was shorter in height, but it didn't seem to bother him. Along with the lab coat and his red hair, he wore black pants and shoes. A purple pair of gloves complimented his same color belt wrapped around his waist. He also wore a pair of glasses with rectangular turquoise lens.

"I'm sorry for keeping you waiting." he said. "I was working on an important experiment and couldn't safely halt the procedure for a little bit. I didn't expect anyone coming today." He motioned the boy to follow him. "My name's Dexter, boy genius."

"Yeah, yeah," the boy said as he followed Dexter inside the building, "everyone knows who you are. You're the guy who 'revolutionized the world' with your inventions to help us like that bus thing that runs through my neighborhood."

"My Slider System to be precise!" he said with confidence. "It allows safe transportation from the Suburbs to here in Downtown and vice versa. We're currently thinking about expanding the system to the wilderness area, but there are many problems with that."

"Like?"

"Well, doing so will get us into property conflicts with Camp Kidney. That Lumpus character didn't seem to mind. I actually heard him mutter possibly using it to get away from his duties. But his assistant, Slinkman, was willing to put up a heated argument. Though if that moose agreed, I would have to send more of my Dexbots to maintain the structure since who knows what kind of damage those wild animals could do."

"Yeah... Anyway, you wanted a test subject, right?"

"Oh, yes. Would please follo- W-Wait! What!" he suddenly exclaimed, slightly falling back in surprise. Dexter paused for a brief moment to straighten himself. "Sorry for that. I didn't expect that kind of question after not a single person showed up for it."

"Well, I guess these people are afraid to take risks..."

"I see... Well, if you're actually willing to participate in this, then follow me. Oh, and your name, please?"

"Kyle."

Dexter led Kyle down a number of hallways and corridors until they came to a sealed door. Various locks and fields had been implemented as well as some defense laserguns mounted on the walls. Obviously, Dexter didn't want any unauthorized person getting inside. Next to the door, Dexter removed one of his gloves and placed his bare hand on the fingerprint scanner.

**"FINGERPRINT IDENTIFICATION CONFIRMED. WELCOME, DEXTER."**

The doors immediately opened and the two entered inside. Many small blue robots about two-thirds the size of Dexter were swerving around the room on mechanized wheels performing various tasks. Some were welding or fixing machinery while others were cleaning up messes and leaks. Kyle's attention was immediately directed towards the machine in the center. The robots, or "Dexbots" as Dexter called them, seemed to be putting the final touches to it. It was almost three times the size of a normal car. A circular tube was placed at the center with two large machines that looked like generators or processors hooked onto each side. Dexter motioned Kyle to follow him to the machine.

"So what exactly is this thing?" Kyle asked.

"Why, this is my latest invention . . . the 'Time Machine'!" he proudly exclaimed. "As you probably know, it should allow an individual to travel across the time stream and allow you to explore any time period you desire, maybe even groups of people once I finish my research! I just needed someone to test this experiment as inanimate objects won't give the most accurate results obviously. None of my usual testers of employees wanted to do it because they feared the consequences of something going wrong with this. What about you? Are you going to drop out now? There's no need to go through with it if you're scared."

Kyle body hesitated a little, but he was quick to make a decision.

"I'll do it."

"Very well. Please step inside that tube over there. The latch will be locked once it closes as a final warning."

Kyle slowly walked up and stepped inside as Dexter had instructed. Just like Dexter had said, the latch locked with a loud clank. Knowing there was no way back, he leaned against the wall contemplating his thoughts. A small part of him urged Kyle to back out, but he stubbornly ignored it.

"Alright now," Dexter began, "Kyle Ventosus, right?"

Kyle suddenly opened his eyes, surprised that Dexter knew his last name.

"Yeah..." Dexter awkwardly admitted. "The mayor kinda gave me access to records on everyone in Townsville."

"Figures, knowing that man..." Kyle quietly said to himself. "_How is he still even Mayor?_"

"Well then, let's get started! I've set the destination to one day in the future. Once the operation starts, you're probably going to feel a little gust in there. I still don't know if the machine will send you to where you stand now so take this device."

Dexter pressed a button on his rectangular control console. Inside the tube, a panel opened up where a mechanical claw came out, carrying what looked like a high-tech wristwatch. It was a little bigger than normal ones, but Kyle still attached it to his wrist, automatically latching on with a tight grip.

"I guess you can consider it another experiment." Dexter said. "That's my latest prototype device. I call it the 'Nanocom'. It's my next development in wireless communication. Right now, it only functions as a communicator, but I am working on more features. The specific one you're wearing now is special as it's the only one I plan on making it that kind of model. Consider that as a gift for helping with my Time Machine experiment. Also, I've set all my computers to constantly search the globe so I can be aware of your location you the moment you appear again. You got all that?"

Kyle simply gave a nod.

"Excellent. Here we go..."

Dexter, obviously excited, pressed the button. The time machine was beginning to activate. In a clockwise direction, the twelve lights encircling the pod began to light one by one until they were all glowing brightly. Kyle had to shield his eyes to block some of the light. _Should've worn sunglasses..._ Even with his limited vision, he could still see Dexter with a grin on his face, fascinated with what was happening.

The time machine slowly began to create loud noises and vibrate slightly. Meanwhile in the background, a girl was sneaking around, tiptoeing as to not make the slightest sound while Dexter's attention was directed towards the experiment. She was blonde and tall in stature. She was at a distance, but Kyle guessed she was a little taller than Dexter himself. She wore a pink ballerina outfit, complete with accessories. It wasn't until she got a little closer, Kyle recognized her as the figure he saw in the window. The girl wandered around with a happy and mischievous smile. She noticed Kyle watching her so she put her finger to her lips, telling him to keep silent as she continued approaching, unnoticed by Dexter and the Dexbots. Kyle, slightly worried about why she was here, tried telling Dexter, but noticed the scientist had severed communication through the built-in microphones. Kyle watched as she approached the side of the time machine; Dexter was still too fascinated by his data readings to notice her dance by. Kyle could see a glimmer of curiosity in the girl's eyes as she stared at the many buttons. Getting more worried, he started banging the pod's glass window to warn Dexter, but the boy genius still didn't notice.

"Oooo~! What does this button do?" the girl wondered loudly.

"What the!" Dexter exclaimed as he finally snapped back to reality. He noticed the girl reaching towards a button on the time machine. He immediately dashed after her, almost by instinct. "Dee Dee! What are you doing here! Get out of my laboratory!"

Dexter tried to stop her, but it too late. "Dee Dee" had already pressed the button by the time he tackled her to the ground. In seconds the time machine began to go haywire. The many lights started flashing, one or two of them shattering, and the machine started shaking, violently knocking Kyle off his feet. The force of smashing his head on the metal surface knocked Kyle unconscious and left him at the mercy of the machine. Dexter and his Dexbots were struggling to hold Dee Dee down as she was happily giggling. Remembering about Kyle, Dexter quickly abandoned his hold on Dee Dee and rushed back to the control panel and activated the communication speakers again.

"Kyle! Hurry! I'm overriding the lock mechanism now! There's no telling what's going to happen now! Get out of there!" Dexter looked up to see Kyle out cold. He immediately began typing commands as fast as he could. "Just _perfect_! Computer! Abort process now! I'll just have to open the doors manually-What! '**SYSTEM OVERLOAD**'!"

Steam erupted as dozens of sparks flew out of the machinery. Screws and bolts loosened themselves and flew off in different directions. The internal structure of the machine was falling apart. Before Dexter could rush towards the machine's latch, a bright light radiated from the inside of the tube. It engulfed Kyle and in a flash, he was gone. All that was left behind was the utterly destroyed remains of the time machine.

Dexter slammed his fist on the control console, clenching his teeth in anger. He didn't even care that he destroyed a piece of machinery he worked so hard to build. He quickly turned around to face Dee Dee who was still being held down by the Dexbots. She was no longer laughing, but shuddering with fear. She had never seen Dexter this infuriated before. It was like she was staring at a completely different person.

"Dee Dee!" Dexter exclaimed as he began walking towards her. His voice loud enough to be heard from outside the room. "You stupid idiot! Do you realize what the hell you've just done!"

"D-Dexter," she slowly muttered, "I-I'm sorr-"

Dexter walked away before she could finish apologizing. He went back to the control console and continued typing on whatever buttons and commands he could still work with.

"Dexbots," he said surprisingly in a completely calm tone, "please escort my sister outside. Computer, calculate the date the test subject was sent."

"Calculating..." a digital female voice stated. "Calculations finished. The test subject was sent approximately one year into the future..."


	2. Tech Square

**Chapter 2 – Tech Square**

**Author Notes:**

- Just note that this story was originally written when _Ben 10: Ultimate Alien_ never premiered yet. I don't believe there's any _Ben 10: Alien Force_ continuity I used that hasn't been screwed up by _Ultimate Alien_ yet aside from the obvious Omnitrix to Ultimatrix thing, but if there is, keep that in mind.

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><p>"Are you sure you want to go? It's too dangerous. There's no telling what could happen!"<p>

"Whatever, I have nothing else to lose..."

"Don't say that! It's not like that incident was your fault! I'm sure he wouldn't want this!"

Thoughts and memories were racing inside Kyle's mind. He was subconsciously reminiscing his time just before he decided to go to Dexlabs. The feeling of the dream-like state felt so nice and relaxing that he thought it could last forever, but Kyle finally grabbed a hold of reality when the sound of explosions rang in his ears.

"_What?...Ugh, where am I? What was that noise?_"

Kyle slowly opened his eyes and saw he was lying on the ground. He scanned the area in front of him. He recognized the surrounding area as Townsville, but everything was different. Buildings were left in complete ruin, covered with large gaping holes and shattered or missing windows. Some were even sunk into the ground. Kyle looked up to see the once blue sky had transformed into a ominous green color. Partially hidden behind the clouds, Kyle could see a gigantic planet in place of where the Moon should be. Even its structure was strange. It more like a cluster of planets fused together, the center or original being the large dark green one in the center. It looked like it was made of a sticky substance as it was how the other planets were fused to it.

"_What the heck is happening?...Or...what **did** happen?_"

As he turned around to further analyze the area, Kyle almost fell back in shock of what he saw. He realized he had just awoken near a cliffside. Everything beyond of the horizon of it was completely gone, vanished into thin air. Kyle approached the cliff's edge carefully and gazed down on his knees. There was not a hint of anything that once stood there. All that was left was a vast green-colored ocean.

"_Oh man, this can't be happening!_"

Another explosion rang in his ear. Kyle looked back to see dozens of airships battling winged creatures in the sky. The ships were slowly driving the creatures in Kyle's direction. Kyle couldn't make them out from the distance, but the flying creatures seemed to resemble dinosaurs or dragons. Knowing this could be dangerous if one of the creatures spotted him, Kyle scanned for a safe haven. He was greatly relieved to see the Dexlabs building nearby. What looked like fissure had caused the building's grounds to be elevated to what was now a plateau. Kyle noticed a series of makeshift ramps had been constructed to lead up to it. It was his only chance. Dexter might be there to help him. As he started for the ramps, Kyle felt something buzz on his wrist and remembered about the Nanocom. He took cover under the shade of a nearby tree to answer it.

"Hello?" Kyle asked,

"Bzzt-Kyle, come in." a voice said. "Bzzt-Kyle, come in. Are you reading me?"

It sounded like a woman, but how she sounded was off, like a computer-automated voice.

"Um, yeah. It's me." Kyle replied as he sat down. "I know it looks like a bad time to ask this, but what exactly is happening here?"

"My name is Computress, Dexter's personal computer. Although I never spoke, I was overseeing the time travel experiment with Dexter. As for right now, I'm sure you remember Dexter's sister, Dee Dee, correct? Because of what she caused, the time machine sent you farther into the future than Dexter had intended, about one year. I can give you a more detailed explanation at Dexlabs. It's not safe where you are right now. Please make haste to the Dexlabs building and take shelter. The nearby ramps will take you here."

"_What have I gotten myself into?_"

Kyle sat a little while longer to take all of this in. Looking to his right, he came across a green glowing pod attached to the tree. What looked like plant roots were burrowed into the tree and surrounding ground. Like a net, the roots also covered the green surface of the pod with "holes" where it could ooze out. The pod began to glow on and off like a light bulb as he approached it. It was hypnotizing. Completely forgetting about his predicament, he slowly approached so he could touch it. As he reached for the surface, the pod suddenly shot green slime at Kyle's arms. Awakening from his trance in shock, Kyle dropped to the ground in pain trying to get it off; the substance was burning his skin. The green pod began to glow brighter and released more globs of slime, but the form was different from before. They were shaped like spheres with a little point on top. Kyle saw bright red eyes and mouths forming. Soon, the slime took up lives of their own and slowly and began to hop towards Kyle with their twisted and sinister grins. Kyle was still on the ground as they approached. He managed wipe the slime that was burning his arms, but he was still in too much pain to get up. The creatures leapt at him.

Kyle tried to shield himself from the creatures, but he it would be hopeless. As he closed his eyes awaiting his impending doom, a gun fired. Kyle opened his eyes to see his attackers become simple puddles of slime before his eyes. He turned to see two people standing before him. One was a black-skinned female wearing a blue jumpsuit-like outfit with white outlines. She wore a red cap which covered her black hair that she braided into a ponytail. Clutched in her hands were two pistols. The one on the right was a teenage male with brown hair. Kyle could tell he was older than him. He wore a green jacket with the number "10" on it, a pair of jeans, and a pair of black and white sneakers. One thing noticeable Kyle caught sight of was the strange device on his wrist. It was glowing strangely, just like the pod from before.

"Holy Camole!" the girl exclaimed. "Where the heck did you come from? Everyone in the area should've been evacuated by now! Hurry up and follow us!"

"Wait!" Kyle exclaimed as he grabbed her arm. "Just what the heck is going on here?"

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" the boy asked him. "You mean you really don't know what's going on?"

"Yes! I was just helping Dexter with a time travel experiment and now-"

"Wait," the girl interrupted, "Dexter's time travel experiment? The only people who know about that are-...You're Kyle, right? You're that kid from the past he was talking about. Well, you're in a world of trouble now. My name's Abigail, 'Abby' for short, but call me Numbuh 5 and this here's Ben. Ben Tennyson."

Kyle felt idiotic that he didn't recognize Ben Tennyson on the spot. His name is practically a common occurrence news. A teen hero from the city of Bellwood, he had the ability to transform into many kinds of aliens thanks to the device on his wrist, the Ultimatrix. Kyle never thought he would ever meet him personally since he assumed Ben would always be busy fighting aliens in his hometown.

"I see you got yourself a Nanocom." Ben observed.

"Hm? You mean this?"

"Yup. Though the one you're holding is different from ours. Dex told us he gave you a watch model. Kinda reminds me of the Omnitrix..."

"Okay, we've talked long enough." Numbuh 5 said. "We need to get you to Dexlabs before something else shows-" A loud roar in the distance interrupted her. It sounded like a ferocious wild animal. "Aw man..."

The repeated roars began to grow louder in succession. They were also accompanied by numerous snarling sounds. Whatever was making the noises was quickly approaching the group's location. The three stood back to back and scouted their surroundings for a sign of where the noises were coming from. Towards his left, Kyle noticed something and directed Numbuh 5's and Ben's attention to a submerged skyscraper. Standing atop the building was a large mechanical Cerberus-esque dog. It leaped from the building and landed perfectly on the ground in front of them. The landing combined with the creature's weight was enough to shake the earth below them. Dashing to its sides were pack of the same creatures, albeit much smaller than the original creature.

"Tch, it's a Cyberus." Numbuh 5 remarked in an annoyed tone.

"And it brought along some friends..." Ben added.

"Kyle, I'm sorry to be suddenly telling this from you, but you're gonna have to fight with us. Here. Take this weapon."

Numbuh 5 handed Kyle a weapon which emerged from the PDA-like Nanocom in her pocket. It was a long-range rifle powered by a strange stone which turned a bright green color when Kyle touched the weapon. Kyle hadn't done so much as held a gun before besides videogame personas. He was a little worried if he could get it to work properly.

"We'll back up Ben while he attacks it."

"Let's take 'em down!" Ben exclaimed. He slammed his Ultamatrix and was engulfed in a bright green light. Kyle couldn't see what was taking place inside since he was shielding his eyes. But one once the light faded, Kyle saw Ben had transformed into a gigantic brown dinosaur-like creature. "Humongosaur!" he exclaimed.

Ben began to grow larger in size, obtaining even more dinosaur-like features such as plates on his back, a crest on his forehead, and spikes on his tails. Once he was ready, he charged at the Cyberus leader, knocking it to the ground upon impact. Numbuh 5 was rapidly firing her pistols in every direction, each shot hitting its mark with precision. She was trying to make an escape route among the Cyberus' confusion. Kyle was still struggling due to how fast he got involved in a battle and figuring out an unfamiliar weapon right away. Unfortunately, Numbuh 5 had to show him while holding off the nearby Cyberus at the same time. As the fight raged on, the Cyberus leader swiped his claw at Ben, scratching his chest, and managed to get knock him back. Ben was now pinned to the ground. Kyle was quick to notice his predicament and carefully aimed at the leader. Closing his eyes, he fired.

It was direct hit. The shot had pierced the Cyberus' armor and through the monster's radioactive core. The creature's entire body began to radiate a bright green light. It was on the verge of exploding, but still willing to fight to its last breath, intending to take at least one from the group with it. Ben, now free of the grip, grabbed the Cyberus' hind legs and with all his might tossed the creature off the nearby cliff directly into the green ocean. The Cyberus exploded a few seconds after it was submerged, creating a large pillar of rising water. Ben quickly rushed over to cover Kyle and Numbuh 5 from the raining droplets with his large scaly body. The water seemed to sting him upon touch his skin, but he didn't look too bothered by it.

"You guys, okay?" Ben asked as he transformed back to his human self.

"We're fine." Numbuh 5 replied. "Thanks, Ben. Okay, now that big problem is out of the way, we need to get out of here. Ben, clear the way for us. Kyle, just make sure you stay behind us. Don't fall behind. Got it."

Kyle nodded. Numbuh 5 gave the signal as Ben activated his Ultamatrix again. Once again enveloped in a green light, Ben soon emerged transformed into a humanoid alien made out of crystal, shouting out the name, "Diamondhead". The arms and facial area were light green while the rest of the body was dark purple. Ben placed his hands on the ground. Within seconds the ground began shaking as oversized walls of light green crystal erupted from the ground, knocking the remaining Cyberus into the air as well as creating an open path.

"Move, now!" Numbuh 5 commanded.

The Cyberus were even more aggressive and persistent after witnessing their leader being destroyed. They desperately attempted the climb over the crystal walls but usually ended up slipping and sliding back down. Those that did manage to climb up were immediately shot back down by Numbuh 5 or Ben. The group managed to reach the first ramp with ease and started to climb. It was large and steep; one misstep would send someone rolling back to a gruesome fate. Ben covered the rear as he raised a crystal wall to prevent some of the Cyberus from following them. Numbuh 5 pulled out a communicator from her pocket and contacted someone as they headed for the next level.

"Numbuh 2!" she exclaimed into the microphone. "Come in! Numbuh 2!"

"Numbuh 2 responding." a male voice answered. "What is it Abby?"

"Are you anywhere near me and Ben? We need you take care of these monsters tailing us!"

"Roger that. I'm on my way."

The group quickly made their way up the next ramp. Numbuh 5 motioned the two to make a break for it across the bridge up ahead which connected two large land masses. Once they were across, she turned to see the Cyberus pack still approaching them full speed. In a few moments what looked like a green rocket or missile-like aircraft zoomed past the three and dropped explosive charges made of oversized glue bottles, destroying the bridge and preventing the pack from getting to them. The more energetic ones attempt jumping the gap, but the distance was just too big and they ended up plummeting into the water below. Relieved that the pursuers were "gone", Kyle looked up to see the ship circling them, getting ready to land. Deploying its landing gear, the ship slowly came to the ground. The cockpit doors opened and another teenage boy stepped out. He was overwieght, dressed in a blue shirt and brown overalls. He wore an aviator hat with goggles attached to it; the number "2" was printed on the forehead in black.

"Haha! That sure was a _sticky_ situation you guys got into. Haha! Hm? Who's this?"

"Now's not the time for lame jokes, Numbuh 2." Numbuh 5 said. "We're in the middle of a battle here. What's the current situation?"

"Numbuh 1 just sent orders to help out Jack. There's an extremely powerful energy reading heading towards him. It may be too much to handle for him"

"Right. Ben and I will head there now."

Reverting back to his human form, Ben followed Numbuh 5 as she headed off. Kyle turned to Numbuh 2 who was observing him more closely. There were a lot of questions racing through Kyle's head that he wanted to ask him, but he decided to let the boy go first.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Numbuh 2, 2x4 Technology Officer of Sector V of the Kids Next Door."

"Kyle."

"Alrighty then. Numbuh 5 relayed a message that you needed to speak with Dexter, right? Well, there's a problem. She and Ben were probably not told yet, but Dexter's gone missing. The Powerpuff Girls are still searching the battlefield for him, but they're still not enough with all these Tech Wings flying around. The best we can do is-"

"Numbuh 2!" a voice yelled in the distance.

A girl with black hair dressed in a green and black jacket and skirt suddenly came into view and landed in front of the two. She wore he black hair down and the vibe she gave off definitely told someone that he wouldn't want to mess with her. Kyle immediately recognized her as Buttercup of the Powerpuff Girls, the superhero trio who battle Townsville's many supervillains and evildoers on a daily basis. He had always seen the action from the sidelines, but now this is the first he's actually stood this close to one of the girls.

"We found out where Dexter is," she informed the officer, "but we're not sure how heavily guarded the place is."

"Alright, Buttercup." Numbuh 2 said. "We can at least get you, Blossom, and Bubbles to stay outside the entrance to hold off the monsters while someone goes inside to rescue him. Maybe I can still call Ben back here or..."

Kyle hesitated for a moment, but he had the strange urge to act and say something. "I'll do it!" he suddenly exclaimed.

"What? Are you crazy? I mean, not to insult you or anything, but you're just a random kid that we found in the middle of the battlefield. You probably don't even have any battle experience besides those Cyberus that chased you."

"I know, but...Dexter's the one who got me into this mess. I figure I at least should be the one who gets him out..."

"...You've got guts, I'll tell you that," Buttercup admitted. "Don't worry, Numbuh 2. Let the kid do what he wants. Anyway, just get some KND members who aren't too busy and tell them to cover us. Kid, you and Numbuh 2 will get in the SCAMPER and fly in when we've made an opening. You better be itching for a fight. You ready?"

"...Ready."


	3. Battle of Tech Square

**Chapter 3 – Battle of Tech Square**

**Author Notes:**

- If you've only played the game on February 16, 2011 or later, then you probably might not know that the game had an entirely different tutorial (easy to find on YouTube last time I checked) which is what this whole Tech Square arc is based on. Levels 1 through 4 took place in a post-apocalyptic portion of the game's world which is what the following chapters are based on. Just noting this in case anyone thought I pulling this entire thing out of my ass.

* * *

><p>The <strong>SCAMPER<strong> flew across the dark and ominous sky with vigorous speed. Numbuh 2 explained to Kyle that a lot of the Kids Next Door's technologies were given acronyms. "**SCAMPER**" stood for "**S**habby **Ca**mper **A**ctually **M**akes **P**erfect **E**mergency **R**escue-mabob". Kyle thought it was a little stupid, but Numbuh 2 seemed to really like it. The operative proved to be an excellent pilot, expertly maneuvering the ship and shooting down the Tech Wings attempting to claw their way into the cockpit. Other **KND** operatives were manning the weapon and control systems, firing rockets and repairing the energy shields. They mostly dressed in protective suits made out of various common materials. Painted in white on their helmets was a number. Numbuh 2 also explained that every member of the Kids Next Door was assigned a codename upon joining the ranks.

A girl named Blossom had come inside the ship to help guide Numbuh 2 in the right direction. She was another member of the Powerpuff Girls. Seeing her made Kyle remember the little childhood crush he had on her, but he was over it now. Still, he blushed in embarrassment when he the memories came back. Blossom dressed in a similar manner as Buttercup but pink in color, and she had long, flowing red hair. Buttercup and the last Powerpuff Girl named Bubbles, the blonde and blue-colored one of the girls, were clearing any remaining monsters getting in the way. They all had the ability to fly and use heat vision, which the they used to destroy the flying Tech Wings. They were same creatures Kyle saw upon awakening in this post-apocalyptic world. They were much more ferocious up close. Just like the Cyberus they were made out of different Dexlab technology pieces corrupted, fused, and given minds of their own by the green slime. They looked like a mix between winged dinosaurs and dragons whose arms doubled as wings like a pterodactyl. They had somehow gained natural, sharp teeth which dripped green slime. Kyle couldn't tell if it was just their saliva or the gooey bonds slowly decomposing.

Kyle stood by the open cockpit door, held back by a short cord to prevent him from falling off. He tried his best to shoot down the monsters. He was getting better at using his weapon now that Numbuh 2 had shown him all of its capabilities. It was a slow process, but Kyle progressively shot down every Tech Wings in sight. He either pierced a wing, rendering it unable to fly, or right through its heart, causing it to explode.

"Pretty good for a newbie." Numbuh 2 remarked.

"It's...no big deal. So where are we going?"

"To the power reactors." Blossom answered. "Since Tech Square is the center for Dexlab products and machinery, it would make sense that there would be a powerful energy source nearby. But now, most of them have been destroyed. One of the remaining ones is the main reactor, but it's inside an Infected Zone."

"Infected Zone?"

"It's an area that's been hit real badly with Fusion Matter, that green goo that you've seen a lot of around here. Inside Infected Zones, Fusion Matter practically distorts the laws of gravity and maybe even science itself. Inanimate objects like destroyed remains float and move around, acting like platforms. These areas also tend to be home to the nests and dens of these monsters so they're very dangerous to wander through. Since they're a serious threat that can spread the infection very quickly, Dexter had set up many shield barriers to contain them. And one of the most dangerous threats of these Infected Zones is that most of them are the home bases of Fusions."

"Fusions?"

"They're evil, twisted versions of us made out of Fusion Matter. Fusions are usually the most powerful of these monsters and act as commanders of these armies. Some are more powerful than their real counterparts. When we have to face one, we're usually on par on them and they eventually get away. Plus, whenever we do manage to destroy them, they eventually come back, badder than ever."

"So one of these 'Fusions' kidnapped Dexter?"

"Yup. We don't know the exact details, but we can assume one of them took Dexter."

"And whose Fusion is it?"

"Buttercup's. She's difficult to take down since she has our Powerpuff powers and only those who can handle a superpowered being can take her on unless you're clever or smart enough to trick her."

"Kyle, are you sure you want to take her?" Numbuh 2 asked. "You'll still have a squad of KND agents with you, but there's no telling if you'll win."

"...Yeah, I'll go."

"If you insist..." he said nervously. "Okay, we're approaching the main reactor! Kyle, you'll have to get out when we land and use the teleporter to get inside. A Dexbot may or may not be guarding it depending if it was destroyed or caught in the crossfire. Once inside, make your way to the reactor. It's a pretty straightforward path."

"Bubbles will be going with you." Blossom added. "We want to make sure the Fusion doesn't have an advantage."

"Okay, we're landing! Hurry!"

Coming to halt in midair, the **SCAMPER** slowly descended vertically and landed in front of the reactor's entrance. Blossom and the KND operatives quickly exited the ship to help out Buttercup. Once the passengers had exited, Numbuh 2 closed the doors and flew away. He began circling the battlefield to get ready for the getaway trip. Kyle, Bubbles, and five armed Kids Next Door operatives stepped on the panel and were instantly teleported inside the Infected Zone. Kyle had used teleporters on occasions before, but they usually made him nauseous. He almost fell over the moment he was fully materialized, but Bubbles caught him.

"Are you okay?" Bubbles asked worriedly.

"Yeah...I'm fine." he replied trying to hold down his stomach.

The group looked ahead to see multiple Cyberus guarding the area, another pack of them.

"Ready your weapons, guys!" one of the operatives exclaimed.

The pack leader stepped forward. It was the same size as the other one Kyle had encountered. It began growling and barking as if it was trying to communicate to the group.

"We'll let you pass, _she's_ waiting." Bubbles quoted.

"You can understand it?" Kyle asked.

"I can talk to animals, but since this thing is just technology, it's hard to understand it. He basically said that he won't hurt us and to just go ahead."

"Alright then..."

Kyle, Bubbles, and the rest slowly walked through the path to the reactor. The Cyberus watched closely and growled from the sides. The group soon stood in front of the entrance before a voice came on the intercom above the door.

"Ah, you're here." a female voice said. The voice was a reminiscent of Buttercup's, but how it sounded was altered and warped like someone being possessed. "The door's locked, but I'll gladly open it. But only for only _one_ person. Sweet-Blonde-and-Innocent can't be one of them.

"And if we refuse?" an operative asked.

"Well, for one, you won't get your precious nerd back. And two, my little Cyberus pack will gladly rip you to shreds~"

"So who's going-"

"Oh wait, I've never seen that kid before! The boy with the jacket goes, the rest stay!"

"You can't be serious!" Bubbles exclaimed.

"Take it or leave it, sister."

"...Kyle, I guess it's up to you. Please be careful."

Kyle was hesitant, but he proceeded inside the reactor, watching the doors close behind. Almost immediately, he heard the sound something smash against the doors. It was soon followed by the sounds of gunfire and dog-like noises. Kyle started banging on the doors and tried to pull them open, but they were already locked. He tried shooting the doors, but the shots were not powerful enough to piece the reinforced metal. It just left a heated burn mark.

"What the hell!" he exclaimed, hoping the Fusion would hear him. "You never said they'd be attacked!"

"I never said the Cyberus wouldn't attack them after you came inside." the Fusion replied over the speaker. "You should have asked~."

Kyle could hear the Fusion laughing just before she hung up. It infuriated him. He tried to at least communicate with the outside by screaming as loud as he could.

"Bubbles! Guys! Are you all right!"

Kyle then suddenly heard an extremely loud scream. It didn't affect him as much as the doors lowered the frequency, but he could tell it was much louder than how he heard it. It was Bubbles' supersonic scream, one of her special abilities that Blossom and Buttercup couldn't utilize.

"We're fine!" an operative exclaimed. "Bubbles just temporarily deactivated those Cyberus with her scream! She exhausted herself, but she's okay! Just go on! We'll clean up this mess while these things are still down!"

Now alone, Kyle proceeded up the reactor. The reactor was cylinder-like in shape although curved at the center area. Two staircases starting on the east and west ends lead higher up as they converged to form the next set of stair leading to the next floor. At the center was an elevator shaft. Upon closer inspection, the control box had been destroyed and the wiring holding up the elevator car was also broken off. As Kyle approached the stairs, the intercom came on again.

"Hm, completely forgot about Sunshine's supersonic scream." the Fusion remarked. It was obvious by her tone that she was annoyed about forgetting this simple fact. "No matter, I'll just have to deal with you myself. You came for your nerd, right? Take those stairs to the main control room. You'll find it. I look forward to our meeting. Hehehe..."

There was no way back now, but Kyle had already made his decision back at the **SCAMPER**. He ascended the stairs to the center of the building. He soon came to a set of large, red, metal double doors. Slowly, he opened it and stepped inside, weapon in hand for whatever awaited him inside. Instead of some monstrous creature or kind of threat, Kyle was shocked to see Buttercup lying on the ground, badly injured with her clothes tattered. On instinct, Kyle hurriedly ran towards her to see if she was okay.

"Wait!" a voice exclaimed trying to stop him. It was Dexter. He was trapped in an energy-based prison cell. Electrical currents ran through the bars. One could visibly see the electricity trying to escape the metal surface, waiting for someone to touch it. Dexter was safe since he sat in the center, but it seemed the prison disabled use of weapons so he couldn't escape. "Don't go near her! That's not Buttercup!"

"What are you talking about?" Kyle asked thinking Dexter had gone insane. "This is obviously-!"

"Buttercup" clenched her fist and immediately punched Kyle with her superstrength. Kyle was sent flying towards the wall with great force. The impact was enough to leave a human-shaped dent in the wall. Kyle lied on the ground with intense pain. He was surprised he was still even alive from a blow like that. He thought he would be dead or at least unconscious by now.

"Like I said," Dexter continued, "that's not Buttercup! That's her Fusion! They have the ability to impersonate us..."

"Oh, you're no fun." the Fusion said. "You should've been a good little boy and kept your mouth shut. Guess there's no need for to look like this hideous form anymore."

The Fusion began transform. She grew slightly bigger, her clothes and hair became darker, her skin turned dark green by becoming made of Fusion Matter, and her face became twisted with red glowing eyes just like those small creatures from earlier. Kyle was lying there shocked as he gazed upon the Fusion's transformation.

"It doesn't even matter now if you do stop me now! Even if you destroy me, there's no stopping the plan! I've already set the reactor to blow and wipe out Tech Square!"


	4. Fall of Tech Square

**Chapter 4 – Fall of Tech Square**

**Author Notes:**

- Couldn't Dexter have gotten a random ship to pick him up?

* * *

><p>The temperature progressively rising due the overheating radioactive core. If not stopped, it would overload and set off a nuclear explosion. Still recovering from Fusion Buttercup's punch, Kyle tried to stand back up using the wall as support, still clutching his stomach. Dexter was still inside his prison, a few meters from Kyle, trying to figure out a method of getting free. Fusion Buttercup was slowly walking towards Kyle with an evil and bloodthirsty grin on her face, slamming her fists together.<p>

"Like I said before," she said, "I've never seen you around. But of course, I've taken care of a lot of people so I might have just forgotten you."

"Why do you want to know?" Kyle replied in anger.

"Oh nothing~. It's just that something doesn't seem right about you. I don't know what it is, but I can just feel it."

"How 'bout we cut the talk and get to the point where I blast you?" Kyle pointed his rifle at Fusion Buttercup with one hand as he leaned against the wall. He fired a simple shot of electricity, but Fusion Buttercup simply deflected the shot as if it was nothing.

"Do you really think you can hit me with my strength?"

"Maybe not... But I was just testing out the maximum potential this thing has on full blast." Kyle looked toward where Fusion Buttercup has deflected his shot. It was powerful enough to pierce the roof and leave a small hole. He smiled in now that it passed his test. "Heh, more than I needed..."

"What are you-"

Setting his eyes on the nearby control panel next to Dexter's cell, Kyle repositioned his arm and fired. Fusion Buttercup was too far away to react. If she moved now, she wouldn't be able to divert the plasma shot in time. Kyle's shot destroyed the console, the electricity surrounding Dexter's cage began to fade, and whatever was preventing Dexter from using his weapons was deactivated. The door's lock disengaged and it slowly opened.

"I leave it...to you." Kyle muttered as he fell on the ground unconscious. "_Dexter, you better not waste this chance..."_

"Why you!" Fusion Buttercup exclaimed as she flew full speed towards Kyle.

Dexter quickly ran and stood in front of Kyle. He pulled out a device from his pocket that transformed into an oversized wrench, using it like a sword or staff to block Fusion Buttercup. The two were now gripping and fighting over control of the weapon.

"Oh look, the nerd... Well, it doesn't matter either. I'll just have to take you out first!"

Dexter smirked. "Do you really think you can?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You need to start paying attention and learn more about your enemies." Dexter pressed a purple button on the weapon. Restraints, hidden inside a secret panel immediately emerged and locked onto Fusion Buttercup's wrists. Once the restraints made contact, the Fusion's feet suddenly began to glow and she was instantly stuck to the ground. She tried using her laser vision on the braces to break free. It didn't work, not a single scratch on the metal surface.

"W-What is this!" she exclaimed trying with all her might to move her feet.

"This weapon has the ability to magnetize an individual to the ground. Focusing its power on a specific area such as your feet greatly increases its power, enough to hold someone even of your strength. And that's not all... Tell me. Do you know the advantages of wearing rubber gloves?"

"I don't why that would-... Y-You wouldn't!"

"Try me..."

Dexter pressed a red button on his weapon. The wrench immediately discharged thousands of volts throughout Fusion Buttercup's body. The restraints release her hands once the entire process was finished. Smoke emitted from her body and small bursts of electricity sparked at small intervals. Dexter then activated another mechanism of the weapon. The wrench was coated in a bright red light and began vibrating heavily. Dexter swung the wrench directly at Fusion Buttercup, hurling her across the room upon striking her stomach. She fell on a pile of gas tanks after painfully hitting the wall. Dexter followed it up back drawing a pistol from his pocket and fired. It was too late for Fusion Buttercup to move once she recovered. The pistol shot had already created a spark. Fusion Buttercup was instantly engulfed in a huge explosion, powerful enough to leave a giant gaping hole within the reactor's wall.

Confident that the battle was over, Dexter hurried over to Kyle and tried to awaken him by shaking him. Kyle only groaned as a response, no sign of actually waking up. Pulling a syringe from his coat, he injected a bright blue liquid into Kyle's body. After a few seconds, Kyle began to stir as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Ugh...did you get her?" Kyle groaned.

"Oh good, you're awake... Yeah, looks like it."

"Great... Ow... What did you inject in my arm?"

"Oh, um... It's a special serum that we managed to develop and synthesize a few months after you disappeared. It speeds up recovery in the subject's body, but..."

"But?"

"You lose part of your total life span..."

"...No big deal...I guess... But you owe me a lot of explanations after this. But first, that reactor core. Can you fix it?"

Dexter smiled. "Don't you remember who you're talking to? I'm 'Dexter, boy genius'! It should be no problem deactivating it." Dexter took command of the reactor controls. Kyle couldn't believe how fast he was going through the procedures. "I'm the one who built this thing. There's no way I'll let those guys use it for mass destruction on my watch!" Hurriedly pulling the lever next to him, Dexter activated the shutdown mechanism with only a few seconds to spare. The reactor was starting to cool down. "There, we stopped that catastrophe. You can contact Numbuh 2 now."

"Right." Kyle radioed Number 2's **SCAMPER** through his Nanocom. "Numbuh 2? Came you hear me? Dexter's safe and we took care of Fusion Buttercup. You can pick us up now."

"Roger that. I'm on my way, but it'll take a while. Sorry, I had to retreat because a flock of Tech Wings were closing in and I couldn't risk taking damage to the ship."

"Numbuh 2's on his way." he told Dexter. "All we have to do wait for-" A short tremor suddenly began to resonate throughout Technology Square. It caught the boys off guard and caused them to fall on the floor. "What the hell? An earthquake?"

"Our...real plan." a voice muttered. Amongst the clearing smoke, the two boys spotted the figure of Fusion Buttercup. She was still standing although it looked like she could collapse any second now with all the severe injuries covering her body.

"You're a stubborn one to go down." Dexter said to her.

"Heh...I'm already finished. It doesn't matter though. I did my purpose... I was just here to distract you all. Our Tech Tunnelers have been digging underground ever since we attacked, getting this place ready to collapse. It's too late to stop them now..." With those final words, Fusion Buttercup collapsed onto the floor and her entire body melted into a bubbling puddle of Fusion Matter.

"Kyle," Dexter said, "give me your Nanocom real quick."

Kyle detached the Nanocom from his wrist and handed it to Dexter as he pulled out his own. Dexter then proceeded to transfer a vast amount of information to into Kyle's, appearing as a bright beam of light made out of visible data. By the time Kyle got it back, the entire graphical user interface was completely revamped with many new options and features.

"Remember when I said it was still a prototype? Well, this is the completed version. It has every current feature developed as well as ones not even released yet. Quick, aim your wrist towards the Fusion's remains."

Kyle followed Dexter's directions and soon a small white beam shot out from the sensor mechanism of the Nanocom into the Fusion Matter puddle. The goop then began swirling until it became a floating sphere. Then in a flash of light, it was replaced by a small miniature figure. It was about the size of someone's head and had the exact same appearance as Buttercup albeit more cartoonish.

"A Buttercup doll?" Kyle wondered aloud.

"It's called a Nano." Dexter corrected him. "Fusions are created from items that belong and represent us. Once a Fusion is defeated, his or her remains can be used to form a Nano. Though not all Fusions can make Nanos. We were originally making progress on finding out why, but as you can see the advanced stages of the war had caused us to stop it... Anyway, right now, we only know of thirty-six possible Nanos that can be synthesized. Nanos are also made of Fusion Matter, but they don't follow those monsters' commands. Instead, they listen to us. This is beneficial as they all have three special, unique powers that allow us to take advantage over Fuse's army. Not many people use them as you need to defeat a Fusion and that's rare unless you're directly involve in fighting and are powerful or skilled enough to defeat one. Maybe you can master them all if you decide to fully join us." Another tremor suddenly shook the building once again. This time it was even more powerful. We'll save more explanations later. This place is not safe. You need to get out of here!"

"Hey guys!" a voice exclaimed in a distance. It was Numbuh 2 and his **SCAMPER** coming through the hole created by the explosion. The ship carefully landed in front of Kyle and Dexter. Numbuh 2 quickly exited the moment the SCAMPER touched the ground. "Guys! Tech Square is starting to collapse! We can't hold it anymore! Get in the **SCAMPER**! Hurry!"

Kyle hurried aboard along with Numbuh 2 as an even stronger quake began to shake the reactor again. He turned to see the floor collapse beneath the SCAMPER. Numbuh 2 was able to get the ship back in the air before colliding with the ground. Dexter was still safe as he was standing away from where the floor broke apart. Numbuh 2 held the ship in place waiting for Dexter jump on.

"Dexter!" Kyle exclaimed. "What are you waiting for! Get on!"

"No... You guys get out of here. There are still things I have to take care of in here. Fusion Buttercup invaded my laboratory and stole one of my most powerful weapons. I still need to find and destroy it before Fuse gets his hands on it. Numbuh 2..." Dexter paused for a moment. He was visible laughing to himself despite the situation he was in. "I never thought I would say this in my entire life... I want you to find Mandark and work with him to construct another time machine. Send Kyle back to where he needs to be. He doesn't belong here. Maybe he can rewrite this terrible mess of a future... I have an escape pod here in the reactor. Don't worry about me! Just go!"

"But-!" The **SCAMPER**'s doors automatically closed in front of Kyle as it began to take off..

"We can't stay here any longer!" Numbuh 2 exclaimed. "Don't worry about Dexter. He can manage himself."

Numbuh 2 turned the ship 180 degrees and headed full speed towards the battleship fleet retreating from Tech Square. Back at the reactor, Dexter turned and walked toward the core room's exit.

A few minutes later, the SCAMPER landed on the mothership of the fleet, a large cruiser ship with the Dexlab insignia painted on it. Kyle and Numbuh 2 promptly exited once inspection was complete. Standing on the ship's deck them were some operatives, soldiers, and the like. On the front side of the deck were Buttercup, Numbuh 5, and what seemed like a samurai looking over what remained of Tech Square. Kyle went to see as well. He was devastated to see the entire district of Technology Square beginning to be submerged within the Fusion Matter-contaminated ocean. Further out, he could see that the entire city of Townsville was now gone. Kyle noticed that Buttercup and Numbuh 5 were showing tears in their eyes, trying their best to not lose themselves. Kyle wanted to ask them what happened, but he could tell they weren't in the mood to talk. The samurai was just keeping his eyes closed with arms crossed. Behind him, a communication terminal was beeping.

"Come in." a voice said. Kyle was positive it was Dexter's. "I repeat. Come in. It's Dexter." Everyone nearby turned and went towards the terminal. Even some smaller ships nearby came closer to acquire a better signal. "As we all know, Tech Square has been lost, but the fight is not over. Maybe there's still hope. On board this ship is a boy named Kyle. I've only told a select few people about this, but a year ago, a sudden mishap partially instilled by my sister caused him to be sent here to this...devastating time period. I want some effort put into constructing a new time machine in order to send him back to the past where he belongs. Perhaps he can stop this catastrophe from happening. I've told Computress to send my blueprints. I'm counting on every single one of you. This is my final request. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Dexter out."

Meanwhile, on one of the last remaining bits of Tech Square's floating land, Dexter turned off his communicator as he broke apart a small device in his hand and incinerated it with his pistol. He was sitting with his back against the earthen wall smiling and looking off into the vast green sky ocean.

"Hehe... Perhaps I should've told the truth and informed those two that there was no escape pod..."

With those final words, the ground below him collapsed, the bubbling Fusion Matter eagerly awaiting to embrace him.


	5. Beginning of the End

**Chapter 5 – Beginning of the End**

**Author Notes: **

- Whoever engraved the Engrish in that book needs to be fired

- unless specified, any young Cartoon Network character that appears is aged up to being a teenager in this story

- reference to zerowing21's fanfic, _Unintended Hero_, done with approval

* * *

><p>Kyle sat in the passenger seat of the <strong>SCAMPER<strong> gazing out the window. He still thought of how quickly Tech Square had submerged into the ocean. Once he put that thought aside, he started paying attention to the surroundings. Kyle couldn't believe how much the world had changed in the time he had been gone. The ocean and other sources of water had been contaminated and turned green by Fusion Matter. Many pieces of earth had been broken up by earthquakes and fissures, some of them leading into what looked like bottomless caverns. Many once populated areas now had groups of monstrous creatures roaming about. Survivors were being held up in barricaded safe zones with armed soldiers surrounding their perimeter.

"What exactly happened to everything?"

Numbuh 2 was silent for a moment. He obviously didn't like talking about it. "Planet Fusion happened. Almost everything has been absorbed or destroyed by it."

"What is it?"

"We don't know exactly know for sure. According to Plumber databases, all we know is that it's a planet with no set gravitational orbit. It travels around the universe attacking countless civilizations on other planets, eventually getting to the point where it absorbs the planet and moves onto the next. Our world is its current target."

"Why?"

"Just ask the evil ruler of the planet, Lord Fuse. Or at least, that's what he calls himself. He commands all of these monsters you've seen roaming around including the Fusions. He's absorbed many areas in the world just like what you saw happen to Tech Square. We thought we had it under control at first, but then he just proved to be too much to handle..."

"...And what's left?"

"Just half of the nearby suburban area. I think there might be more out there, but none of our ships can go that far without being attacked and something's blocking any transmissions we send out... I can't believe Fuse was able to do this much this quickly."

"So where are we heading going now?"

"Sector V, my sector in the KND. We can begin reconstruction of the time machine in my lab. Also, Computress is waiting for you in Hero Square. She'll be helping you get to know the basics around here and send you on missions to help with the time machine. Anyway, we're landing at the treehouse now."

Kyle looked outside and was amazed. In the middle of a suburban neighborhood was a large, metal platform hovering above the ground. It seemed to be held up by an anti-gravity generator of the same size built into the ground. On top of the platform stood a regular house, but with a hole within the center of the roof. Sprouting from it was a massive, oversized tree. It was decorated with various objects like an airplane, a cruise liner, and various wooden rooms to form a massive treehouse. These were a common base of operations for the KND. Scattered around the wooden surface on five individual places were the numbers "1" through "5". Painted in white on the top center building was the organization's codename.

The Kids Next Door, "KND" being the most common term, was a worldwide organization of children twelve years of age and under that had existed as long as one could remember. They specialized in "fighting adult tyranny" and did this through, what they called, 2x4 technology, inventions made out of everyday materials like soda bottles and garbage bags (as strange as that sounds). Only official members had the knowledge of how to make them. Once a member becomes a teenager, he is automatically forced to undergo the KND's version of decommissioning: total erasure of the any memory involving the person's history within the KND, including all the secrets they knew. Any member who refused this option and escaped capture squads usually ended up joining a group of teenage ninjas, a group which opposed the KND and worked for their enemies. There were, however, teenage members who were still loyal to the KND and were specifically chosen to operate undercover. Numbuh 2 explained to Kyle that the KND had to come open with this fact when Fuse's invasion began. He and Numbuh 5 were among those who revealed their undercover status along with the rest of their sector. Apparently, their Sector V was the best sector the KND had in generations. The KND also had to discontinue the decommissioning process as they needed all the help they could get as both they and their former teenage members had one common goal: defeat Fuse.

Numbuh 2 landed the SCAMPER on the treehouse's driveway. Even here there were still many operatives and soldiers moving about. Numbuh 2 motioned Kyle to a pile of crates acting like a set of steep stairs. Attached to the top was a metal pole with an glowing blue rope on it leading somewhere below.

"You ever ride a zipline?"

"A little if obstacle courses at camp count..."

"Well besides the ship, this is the only way to get down. Don't worry. It's totally safe. Just hold your Nanocom towards the line and it'll automatically generate some handlebars made out of solid energy. C'mon, let's go."

Going first, Numbuh 2 showed Kyle how to properly ride down the zipline and launched himself full speed to the end point in Hero Square. Its distance was only the next block over. Standing there was a monument branching out in five directions like a star. At each end was a projector each showing five people. Kyle recognized three of them. The first two were Dexter and Ben. The third was Mojo Jojo, one of the recurring enemies to the Powerpuff Girls. He was a green and black monkey wearing a blue jacket, purple cape, white gloves, and boots. He noticeably wore a helmet with a white and purple, diagonally striped pattern. The other two were a mystery to him. One was a boy wearing an orange-yellow shirt and dark blue shorts. He wore a black hat on his head that looked like a sock. The last one wasn't even human or an animal. He was blue figure in the shape of a stereotypical ghost minus the wavy outline at the bottom. In the center of the monument was a large pillar. Hovering above it was an open stone book. Engraved in its pages read, "The hero is great. 5 name hero wild talks."

Numbuh 2 yelled for Kyle to hurry up. They walked toward one of the monuments openings, specifically the one between Dexter and Ben. Standing there, or hovering there as one would probably say, was a robotic woman holding a technologically advanced clipboard. She was shades of blue in color with glowing green eyes. Printed above her left breast was the Dexlabs logo.

"Hello." she greeted them politely. "Welcome to Hero Square."

"This here's Computress." Numbuh 2 said. "I'm assuming you at least talked before. She's Dexter's mobile version of his main computer. She'll be helping you getting used to things around here." Numbuh 2 then pointed towards a KND operative standing next to a SCAMPER which was docked next to a tree. "These guys can take you to other towns and cities if you want. We do suggest that you've at least been to the place before so you don't get lost or something, but we won't stop you if you insist. Well, I need to go work on that time machine. I'll catch 'cha later!"

Numbuh 2 waved goodbye and went back to the treehouse using the zipline once again. He revealed that the handlebars use small rockets to propel one back up the downward slope.

"Greetings." the robotic woman said to Kyle. "I am Computress. I will be helping you get to be familiar with the world's situation. In order to get to know the basics of fighting, I want you to defeat some Fusions Spawns and Shocktanglers. You can find plenty of them roaming around nearby. Also, if it's in your interest, would you like a secondary weapon to practice with?"

Emitting a green light from her chest, Computress spawned a row of weapons from her storage banks. They were mostly different types of ranged weapons, but what stuck out for Kyle was a sword. It was white with a blue border and had a high-tech style. It was also powered by the same power source as his rifle. It produced an electric current visible through a small opening running down the center, but it was still spread throughout the whole weapon. Surprisingly, it didn't electrocute him when he accidentally made the blade touch his clothes. He felt strange the longer he stared at it. His arm was slowly moving toward it, but it felt like his mind was trying pull away. The moment he touch the hilt, the feeling immediately disappeared.

"I see you have an interest in the sword. Don't worry about it electrocuting you. The crystal used to power it senses its user and prevents the electric current from being used against him. Unlike Dexter who was still trying to research it, you may believe that this property is due to magic. It's entirely up to you to decide."

Kyle was still contemplating the fact he was fighting in a full out war against an alien invasion. To think a simple accident could make this happen to him. He removed his cap and stared at the symbol he painted on it. After some deep thought, he finally decided to go through with this.

"Your Nanocom's artificial intelligence automatically updates a journal where you can keep track of your current objective." Computress continued. "There's no need to do it yourself, but you still have to manually access the journal if you want to remind yourself of your current task."

Kyle walked to a nearby block infested with the same species of monsters that first attacked him. His Nanocom contained a large database that stored information of everything that had to do with Fuse and his monsters. It named these small creatures "Fusion Spawns", the most basic form of Fuse's monsters. They could be found almost anywhere in the world. By themselves, they were hardly a threat, but trouble arises when they come together and that happens quite often. Seeing as there were so small, he used his rifle to pick them off one by one. A simple shot was enough to finish the job if aimed at the center of their bodies. Kyle couldn't kill them all as there was an endless number of them emerging from the pod that created them. He learned it was called a "terrafuser". They are near-impossible to destroy, even with a massive blast a hundred times its size. Once you destroy part of a terrafuser, it instantly begins to regenerate itself. For now, all Kyle could do was reduce the population.

Closer to the outer edge of town were large, floating monsters made out of oversized cables and plugs. The Nanocom called them "Shocktanglers". Fusion Matter had caused the materials to grow to enormous sizes. The plug, with the pointed ends facing downwards, acted as the creatures' heads while four cables acted as their tentacles. The ends of the cables were sparking with electrical bursts, one touch would have serious consequences. Kyle stuck to using his rifle from the distance, not wanting risk electrocution. Unlike the Fusion Spawns, their numbers were smaller due to the limited amount of materials needed to create themselves. Terrafusers could only send out Fusion Spawns (and even then in small amounts) which would converge on the remains, fuse, and reanimate the defeated monster. The best thing people could here was to burn the remains, but even then the Fusion Matter would recreate the lost materials through a strange process. The alternative was to take back materials, but it appeared an object infected by Fusion Monster for long periods of time would eventually turn into a sort of homing beacon for the monsters.

After killing an adequate number of Shocktanglers, Kyle returned to Computress. She hadn't moved an inch since Kyle left her. She was just managing data on her clipboard.

"Excellent work for a newcomer. Here are some Taros for your hard work." Computress emitted a small beam from her finger and aimed it at Kyle's Nanocom. Kyle watched as a "TARO" counter steadily increased to five thousand. Taros were the country's currency though its massive use had made commonly accepted in any part of the world. "Please feel free to buy whatever you need with them though please be aware that your Nanocom does have a storage limit for physical materials. You'll have to keep any extra items you may acquire in a bank. Fortunately, Morbucks Savings and Loans offers free accounts. I'll inform you of a location later. Right now, your next objective is to board a nearby transport vehicle."

"Where's it going?"

"Pokey Oaks, the town located south of our present location. There has been a small increase in Fusion activity in this town and we need more operatives to calm the activity. The transport will drop you off at the town's mall where we have set up our base of operations. The vehicle will be waiting for you over there."

Computress pointed to a large carrier vehicle parked in front of Hero Square. It was obviously a KND-made vehicle looking at its parts. Kyle proceeded inside one of the passenger holds. The interior was small and and the aisle was narrow. The seats were cushioned and there was no back support. Kyle groaned at the sight and sat at the end where he could lean his head against the wall. Since it would be a while until departure and traveling to the next town, he decided to catch up on his sleep. Not much time had passed before dozed off.

A few hours later, the vehicle had departed and already arrived in Pokey Oaks by the time Kyle began to stir. Fortunately, he was woken up by a friendly KND operative who had noticed he was still asleep. Kyle didn't have enough time to see the person's face, but he could tell he was a male and his voice was strangely familiar. Kyle decided to follow after him, but quickly lost him after plunging into the busy crowd of soldiers just outside the passenger hold.

Exiting the vehicle, Kyle saw it had stopped in a large parking lot of a Malph's Mall. He could recognize the green and red-lettered sign decorated with neon lights anywhere. There was a long chain business of them across the entire country. This building wasn't as large as the one he occasionally went to in Townsville, but it was still very large. The entire parking lot had been converted into a base of operations like Computress had said. KND-marked tents, supplies, and technology were scattered around the entire area. Mixed in with them were the same things but marked with the codename, "SACT".

Kyle wandered around trying learn the layout of the area. As he continued, he came across Numbuh 5 speaking with some KND agents and some others that he assumed belonged to the SACT. They were dressed in a black turtleneck sweater, grey combat pants, and dark shoes. They also wore deep black sunglasses and their expressions weren't exactly the friendliest either. Numbuh 5 sent them away with some orders as Kyle approached.

"I see you've made it here. I hope you've gotten better at fighting. The monsters around here are a little worse than Sector V."

"Computress sent me here to help out, but aren't I supposed to be helping find parts for the time machine?"

"That's true, but from here on out, these monsters are going to get stronger or have more clever little tricks up their sleeves so you're gonna need to know how to handle these guys if you want to help out."

"...You've got a point. What do you need me to do?"

"Well, besides combat, we need to test your physical performance. Conveniently, we have a task involving that and it needs to be finished. We need someone to go recover something in the Infected Zone nearby."

"And that 'something' is?"

"One of our operatives was on a mission inside the nearby Infected Zone and had some copies of our battle plans and maps with her. The problem was that she got into trouble and was overwhelmed by some Fusion Spawns inside and must've lost them while running away. Fuse's goons haven't shown any signs of finding that lost stuff so we need someone to find them as quickly as possible. The Infected Zone is west of here. You better get going."

Kyle noticed his Nanocom automatically record his assignment. It even displayed a holographic map marking the next location he had to go. He was at the northeastern end of Pokey Oaks while the Infected Zone was at the northwestern corner_._ Following its directions, Kyle came to the entrance to the Infected Zone. It was the local high school, Pokey Oaks High. It was in a state of disrepair due to the destruction caused by the invasion. Sections of the parking lot had collapsed into Fusion Matter pools residing beneath them. Hovercars and other overturned vehicles also suffered the same fate. Unlike the Infected Zone in Tech Square, the laws of gravity were more out of control. It more closely fit Blossom's original description of these areas. Rubble from the parking lot, parts of the school, wooden boards, flower gardens, and even large trucks were suspended in midair. Kyle couldn't believe this was how the world was going to turn out.

Putting lingering thoughts aside, he used the warp gate. Kyle still felt sick when he appeared at the other end, but it was slightly less vomit-inducing than the other time. He saw the land around him was surrounded by a moat of Fusion Matter. The only way across was a large floating piece of wood. He didn't even know if this board would hold him. Kyle carefully walked to the edge and grabbed the board, letting himself hang for a few seconds. Surprisingly, it didn't even move or react to vibration of any kind; the Fusion Matter's distortion made it stay solidly in place. Kyle pulled himself up and gained his balance on this narrow walkway. Once across, he ran towards the school's front doors. As he opened them, he was met with a distant, panicking scream.

"Help! Anyone! Inside the gym! Please! Help me!"

Kyle hurried without hesitation. He kept running down the eastern wing's hallways trying to find the gymnasium. The girl began to yell again, only this time it was louder. Kyle then felt his Nanocom buzzing. "Source verified." it announced. "Take the next right." Kyle followed its instruction and found the door with the word, "Gym", hung above it. He rushed inside, barging through the doors. A teenage black-haired girl was being cornered by a group of Fusion Spawns and some mosquito-type monsters. She was dressed in a white shirt and pants, both with blue outlines. The girl was trying in vain to shoot them away with her pistol, but they kept side-stepping out of her line of fire. They soon leaped at her. The girl screamed as she dropped to the ground and tried to shield herself with her arms. Quickly taking up his rifle, Kyle shot and destroyed the attackers closest to the girl. He ran and stood in front of her and, without thought, unsheathed his sword. He slashed the remaining ones that attempted attacking him into pieces. Any surviving monsters retreated out of fear.

"You okay?" Kyle asked as he helped the girl to her feet.

"Y-Yeah." she replied slowly as she wiped the dust off her clothes. "Thanks a lot... I'm glad someone was close by. I thought I was a goner..."

"Don't mention it, but what are you doing here?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you too? Anyway, um well...after I lost some papers here, I felt responsible to find them. I found where I left them, but the area was swarming with those monsters and they chased me in here... Oh, I forgot! I'm Sherri Bird by the way! It's nice to meet you. Again, thanks for saving me!"

"Sherri... Alright, nice to meet you too. So you're the one who lost those papers?"

"Yeah... Word's got out, huh? Hehe..."

"Numbuh 5 sent me to find them and since you're here, we can work together...if you don't mind, that is."

"No! That'd be great! Follow me! They're this way!"

Opening the doors to the hallway, the two were then met by an angry group of monsters rallied up by the survivors from the previous encounter. Kyle sighed as he took up his rifle and pushed Sherri back a safe distance.

"It never ends, doesn't it?... Alright, let's go!"

Kyle fired a larger and powerful blast from his rifle that eliminated a column of Fusion Spawns. The remaining monsters quickly moved out of the way as Kyle and Sherri rushed through the opening. Sherri was able to kill a small number as she past while Kyle stopped to decimate half of the monsters with precise shots. Scared and seeing themselves outmatched, the monsters retreated in the opposite direction. Kyle looked back to she Sherri had opened

Slowly, the two made their to the other side of the school. The hallways were falling into terrible shape. The Fusion Matter covering the walls were deteriorating the paint and even the concrete themselves. It was an extremely slow process, but it would evenyually lead to the total collapse of the school building if left long enough. Lockers were left open with their contents in a complete mess, some of them destroyed by whatever left bite marks. Dozens of test papers and notebooks littered the hallways. The students and faculty were obviously in a hurry to get out of the school. The only monsters roaming the hallways were basic Fusion Spawns although unlike Sector V's, they were slightly bigger. There weren't that many of them after Kyle and Sherri had taken care of the group that attacked them. It seemed that the group of gathered monsters were most of the ones wandering the hallways.

Kyle and Sherri soon entered the science wing and approached a row of lockers. Sherri began undoing the lock on the locker with her personalized name written in letter magnets.

"Seriously? You left them in your locker?"

Sherri laughed in embarrassment. She grabbed a white purse containing the missing items; they were practically sticking out of the zipper. She strapped the bag onto her shoulder and closed her locker, careful to make minimal noise as to not attract unwanted company.

"Well, I did used to go here before this invasion." Sherri replied. "I kept some of my personal stuff in there. While on that mission, I thought it wouldn't hurt to go get some of it and take it back home with me. Some monsters attacked me while I was packing some stuff. I first thing I did on instinct was to close it and run for my life."

"...At least we have them now. C'mon, let's get out of here."

Kyle turned and accidentally stepped on a large miniature model. It looked like it was based off the founding of Townsville. Kyle picked it up and examined the underside to see Blossom's name printed on it along with another one. The Fusion Matter covering portions of the project had managed to blur it out. The only readable letter was an "H".

"The Powerpuff Girls used to go here?"

"Yeah, I had certain classes with them depending on the day. We changed the order all the time in order to make our schedule seem less repetitive. I think Blossom and some other guy were supposed to present something in my history class, but then the invasion happened that day."

The thought of the invasion's beginning had never come across Kyle's mind until now. He was curious now more than ever.

"How exactly did it start out?"

"I guess it started when those three terrafusers fell from the sky. Dexter, Ben, the Powerpuff Girls, and a group of others managed to take care of it, but that was only the beginning. Mojo Jojo and his Monkey Minions fell from the sky not long after that. Mojo told us he spotted a large object slowly approaching Aetas from his telescope and since nobody appeared to take notice of it, he decided to investigate and possibly conquer it. He never expected it to be an actual planet ruled by an evil alien overlord. Mojo and his group were easily defeated and sent hurling back towards our planet. A few seconds after we found them, Planet Fusion appeared and absorbed the Moon, taking it place. It didn't do anything else for the next few days so people continued with their lives, but they were still scared of the large planet that would appear every night."

"In was only a short time before it happened." she continued. "After Mojo told us his story, Dexlabs and other organizations decided to form a space brigade and launch an attack. They waited till nighttime and launched the moment they could see Planet Fusion within their sight. Before they could even leave the atmosphere, Planet Fusion suddenly launched hundreds of thousands of terrafusers. The brigade was devastated and had to retreat. The remaining terrafusers were then scattered all across the globe and soon began spreading the Fusion Matter infection everywhere. The world deciding on uniting and going to war came not long after that. Then an organization called the Plumbers found some old data about Planet Fusion in their storage banks. Apparently, the planet disappeared after it was finally defeated by a certain alien race. The data was apparently too corrupted that they couldn't decode the name of the species or _how_ they defeated Planet Fusion. Then after a year of fighting...we ended up like this..."

"I see... Sorry if I brought up unpleasant memories."

"It's all right. C'mon, there's an exit out back that'll take us to a Dexbot portal out of here, but we have to cut through the cafeteria. It's a little infested with Fusion Spawns since there's still a heavy smell of food in there."

Down the hallway, Sherri opened the double doors leading into the cafeteria. The entire room was a complete mess. Lunch tables and chairs were scattered, destroyed, or overturned. In the nearby kitchen, Fusion Spawns were devouring any leftover food they could sniff out. Their hornet-shaped cousins made out of satellite dishes and solar panels were also sucking up the leftover soups with their stingers. Few of them took notice to the two, but they didn't bother approaching them since it appeared satisfying their hunger came first. Kyle and Sherri carefully proceeded across and opened the cafeteria's emergency exit. Upon walking under the doorway, a Fusion Spawn suddenly landed on Kyle from above with a gooey splash. It grabbed Kyle's hat with its sharp mouth, tossed it to the ground, and forcefully pulled his hair. Sherri managed to quickly knock the spawn off his head and shoot it with her pistol. The monster let out a dying shriek that was attracting the monsters inside. Picking up Kyle's hat, Sherri grabbed Kyle arm while he was still wiping Fusion Matter out of his eyes and pulled him towards the exit portal. They were soon outside the Infected Zone barriers again. Sherri set Kyle against the building across the street as they began cleaning themselves up.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah. At least that thing didn't rip my hair out..."

Sherri's eyes then suddenly widened. "Ah! Your hair!"

Confused, Kyle rubbed his hair with his hand. Nothing felt wrong with it. The Fusion Spawn, however, did manage to leave behind a substantial amount of Fusion Matter on his head. Kyle could feel some of it already slithering down his back now. "Just some of that Fusion Matter. It's no big deal..."

"No, not that!" Sherri dug through her purse and pulled out a small mirror. Seeing his reflection, Kyle realized that the Fusion Matter making contact with his hair had left a large area of it a silvery-white color. By instinct, he tried to cover it so Sherri wouldn't see, but he was quick to realize it was useless.

"Oh...that..."

"I've never seen this happen before... Maybe it's a new mutation! Hurry! We need to get you to see a doctor or something if it's something seri-!"

"There's nothing wrong with it!" he interrupted. "It's my real hair color... And if it's confession time, then I guess I should take these off..." Kyle removed the colored contact lenses from his eyes. When people see him, they always see that he had brown eyes, but they were truly a silvery-white color.

"So...why do you hide this? Are you ashamed or something?"

"I guess you can say that... But I mainly do it as a constant reminder of what happened six-...seven years ago..."


	6. Troubled Past

**Chapter 6 – Troubled Past**

**Author Notes:**

**- **what the hell was I thinking when I made up this mess of a backstory!

* * *

><p><em>Six years before Fuse's invasion.<em>

Townsville was essentially the same city in spirit then as it is now, a city bustling with activity, adults heading to work, and children playing together. Of course, it wouldn't be Townsville without a crime committed every now and then. The Powerpuff Girls would always arrive to save the day when the situation called for it. They had been fulfilling this duty ever since their kindergarten years.

The ten-year-old Kyle was an energetic and adventurous young boy full of spirit, always desiring a chance to journey out into the world and maybe even become a hero. He usually dressed himself in a black shirt and wore a long sleeve black shirt over it. And no one would ever catch him not wearing his favorite red headband he received as a gift; it meant a lot to him.

One of the boy's favorite pastimes was to play in Townsville Park, the most popular attraction within the city at the time. About five by five acres in size, there was plenty of room and activities for anyone who decided to visit. The park was managed by a group of groundskeepers whom people would probably find strange. The manager himself was a living gumball machine. Three were anthropomorphic animals: a blue jay, a raccoon, and a yeti. The rest were a strange British man shaped like a lollipop, a short and obese green-skinned man, and a small ghost with a hand on his head. Despite the groundskeepers being oddballs, people were easily willing to accept them.

Even though Kyle enjoyed going to the park, he still had trouble with the local bully. Mitch Mitchelson was his name. A brown-haired boy of the same age as Kyle, he and a group of his friends always loved to go tease and boss around the neighborhood kids. One could easily distinguish him as he always wore a black t-shirt with the phrase, "MITCH ROCKS", printed in white. Match particularly loved to boss Kyle around when they weren't in school. It was mostly due to his hair and eye color as not a single person in Townsville shared the same characteristics at this age.

On this particular day, Mitch was acting a little more aggressive and abusive than usual. Kyle was simply standing in the hilly area of the park with his back turned towards Mitch, unaware the bully was there, as he was waiting for some friends to arrive. Mitch quietly snuck up and kicked him onto the ground. Kyle rolled over after coughing up some grass to see he had brought his friends as well.

"What do you want, Mitch?" Kyle asked while wiping the dirt from his face.

"My sources tell me that you're going on a little treasure hunt." he replied. "I want in."

"As if I'll take you."

Mitch suddenly kicked Kyle across his face. The force was enough to leave Kyle with a nosebleed. He and his friends just stood and laughed while Kyle clutched his cheek in pain.

"Mitch!" a voice exclaimed.

Mitch and his friends turned to a group of three people. They consisted of a two boys and one girl, the female seeming to be acting as the leader. The girl's name was Amber, a friend of Kyle's. She had her long black hair down and wore a strange lily on the right side of it. What made it strange were the colors; they were a mixture of red, orange, yellow, and black. Aside from that, she dressed herself in a white long sleeve shirt and blue jeans. The other two boys were named Dan and Adam. They had been friends with Kyle since pre-school. People usually called them brothers, but they truly weren't. It was mainly because of how close they were and how much they were seen together. They had similar short hairstyles, but Dan's was a light brown while Adam's was black. Both boys were also as adventurous as Kyle, but Dan tended to be a little more cautious while Adam loved to see the face of danger. Dan was dressed in a white and blue soccer sweater and camouflage-styled cargo pants. Adam wore a black and grey long sleeve shirt and grey jeans. The two boys quickly ran to Kyle to see if he was okay.

"What's the big idea?" Amber angrily asked Mitch.

Amber had moved into Townsville a year before and met Kyle upon their first day of the school year. She told everyone that her family moved to the city due to her father being transferred and that he was working directly for the Mayor. Kyle decided to joke around when he first introduced himself and ended up making her laugh which was quite an achievement as no one had ever seen her come close to even a small smirk. After that, they were friends in no time. She turned out be a little bit of a tomboy, always getting competitive when she played with the boys. Kyle and the others didn't mind as they wouldn't have to worry about her holding them back. It actually amused them when they thought about it.

"You all right, Kyle?" Dan asked.

"I'm fine now." he replied, wiping the blood from his nose.

Kyle saw Amber was still confronting Mitch and his friends. They continued to laugh at her. Of all the things that annoyed Amber, it was Mitch's laugh. She didn't know why, but it just annoyed her to no end.

"Well?" she asked.

"I don't get why you insist on helping him," he replied, "let alone be friends with him. You actually like that freak of nature?"

"I'm pretty sure everyone one here would agree that they could refer to you as one."

"W-What!"

Mitch dashed towards Amber, ready to attack her. Amber simply laughed and at the last minute, calmly side-stepped out of the way. She extended her foot and tripped Mitch as he ran past her, sending him rolling down the hill they were standing on and crashing into a trash can filled to the brim with garbage; its contents were spilled all over him. The rest of Mitch's group were powerless and unmotivated without their leader so they ran away without a word.

Amber helped Kyle to his feet again and helped Dan and Adam clean the dirt off his clothes.

"We can go on the treasure hunt tomorrow." she told him Kyle. "You don't have to push yourself if you don't want to."

The other two nodded in agreement.

"I'm fine." Kyle replied. "Thanks for showing up when you did, guys."

"Hey, we're always here for you!" Dan assured him.

"So how exactly did you find this cave?" Amber asked in a curious manner.

"Oh, well yesterday, I was walking along the grassy area near those mountains over there."

Kyle pointed in the southern direction towards a mountain chain. The chain itself bordered the area from three sides: north, south, and west. The mountains were not that big, only about half the size of a skyscraper.

"Then a saw something shiny in a small batch of purple flowers. I ran over and found a gold coin. It was pretty cool looking and had some weird animal or something on it. Anyway, after I found it and tried to run back to show you guys, my foot got caught on something and I fell through some kind of opening. You couldn't see it from the outside because some overgrown grass covered it up. It looked like a cave. I figured there would be some kind of treasure if the coin was nearby so let's go!"

"Wait." Amber interrupted. "Where's the coin you were talking about?"

"Oh, I must've been pretty excited when I was running home to tell you guys that I've dropped it on the way. But don't worry! There's bound to be more of them! C'mon already!"

"I'm in!" Adam exclaimed.

"If he's going, I'll go to." Dan added.

"Alright. If you insist." Amber said.

Kyle led the way to the mountains' cave system. He parted the overgrown grass to let the others go first. Adam went first, followed by Dan, then Amber, and finally Kyle himself. The entrance was small, but the cave walls were high enough to accommodate an average fully grown man. Kyle had brought along two flashlights to light the way. He gave the second one to Adam as they lead the other two. The passageway they were walking was completely straightforward. There wasn't a single fork in the road which eliminated the possibility of getting lost. It was obvious that not a single person had set foot in the cave for centuries. There were some marks on the walls left behind by sharp tools that haven't been used since one thousand years ago.

The group little expedition had gone decently so far. They had already progressed through a good amount of the cave, but they still had yet to find a single piece of valuable treasure like Kyle had said.

"I'm starting to think there's nothing here." Dan said. "Maybe we should turn back? I'm don't like the feeling of this place."

"Oh, c'mon." Kyle urged him. "There's gotta be _something_ in here if we saw those marks on the walls."

"We'll go a little further." Adam told them. "If there's nothing by then, we're calling it quits."

The group continued on for a few more minutes. Still nothing. They were pretty sure they were close enough to Townsville Bay by then. Soon things took a turn for the unexpected when Amber accidentally stepped on what seemed like an old trigger stone. The cave suddenly began to shake and a segment of the ceiling collapsed behind the four. By the time the dust, the group saw their exit was now block by a pile of medium-sized rocks.

"W-We're trapped!" Dan exclaimed.

Adam gave his flashlight to Amber and attempted to pull aside the rocks. He was able to easily move aside the rocks one by one with enough effort.

"It'll take a while," he said, "but we can move these out of the way. Dan, come over here and help."

Dan hurried over and began pulling aside the rocks as well. Amber continued holding the flashlight so the boys could see what they were doing.

"I'll go ahead to see if there's another way out." Kyle said.

"Wait!" Amber exclaimed. "...Ah, nevermind. It's useless to argue with you anyway. Just be careful, alright?"

Kyle nodded and continued inside further. It was only a few seconds before he came to a turn and disappeared from the others' sight.

After a while, Dan and Adam were making steady progress to clear the way. They were about halfway done, being able to see the other side through the very small openings between the rocks. As Amber stepped backwards to allow the boys to have more light, she noticed the light being reflected by something on the ground. It was a gold coin. She picked it up and examined it more closely. It matched the description Kyle gave earlier. One side was completely flat, but the other had the engraving of the upper half of some creature. It had menacing eyes and it looked like its eyebrows were made out of fire. Amber stood staring at the coin before she came to a realization.

"Dan! Adam!" she exclaimed. "Stop what you're doing right now and find Kyle! He's in huge trouble!"

"What? How do you-"

"Just do it!" she interrupted.

Dan and Adam looked at each other and nodded. They knew Amber was being serious and followed her orders. Together, the three ran after Kyle. Dan was the fastest out of the three, followed by Adam, then Amber so he gained a bigger distance than the other two. They soon came to a large antechamber. Dan, being the first to enter, saw Kyle up ahead and began to run towards him. Adam and Amber stopped by the entrance as they were stunned by what they saw.

It appeared to be a large shrine of some sort. Torches lit by a strange red fire encircled the room. Various sorts of dark-colored garments, antique pottery, and golden coins were scattered all over the place. Towards the center of the opposite wall was the shrine itself. A stone altar had been constructed in front of a large stone idol statue. It was the same being the appeared on the gold coins. Looking at the statue, it didn't even have any legs. It looked like it was some sort of shadow being.

Adam and Amber saw Kyle standing before the altar with Dan about to confront him.

"Kyle?" Dan asked. "Why're you just standing there? Weren't you looking for another way out?"

Kyle remained silent for a moment.

"...Who are you?" he asked strangely.

Something was wrong with his voice. It was largely distorted and sounded demonic. It didn't even remotely sound like Kyle's normal voice. The expression on Amber's face obviously showed she didn't like it.

"Kyle?" Dan asked again. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I can't speak for this vessel." Kyle responded in the same demonic voice. "But you should be worrying more about yourself."

"What are you talking abou-"

"Dan!" Amber exclaimed. "Get away from him! Hurry!"

Kyle suddenly turned around to reveal he was wielding a strange metal sword in his right hand. He immediately thrusted it into Dan's chest with a bloodthirsty smile. Adam fell back in horror of what he just witnessed while Amber held her hands over her mouth. Kyle slowly removed the bloody blade from Dan's body. The boy was already dead before he hit the ground.

"One step closer to completing _his_ plan."

Kyle looked towards Adam and Amber who were still paralyzed from what they witnessed. They saw Kyle's eyes had changed as well. They were now glowing with a bright red color. He simply laughed as a strange black mist flowed out of his body. Kyle eyes reverted back to their original color as he collapsed next to Dan's body. The mist began swirling into a sphere before expanding to form a large demon-shaped shadow. It had no visible facial features on its hawk-like figure. All one could see was total blackness. It quickly dived towards Adam and Amber once its wings were fully formed. It was then suddenly stopped when a yellow light immediately engulfed it and the rest of the room as it approached the two children.

* * *

><p>"I apparently woke up when that shadow thing disappeared." Kyle told Sherri. "Or at least, that's what Adam told me. He was shaking me awake when I came to, the first thing I saw was Dan's lifeless body laying there right in front of my face. Not only that, but I saw the blood-covered sword in my hand afterward... I was traumatized. All I could do was to begin screaming. Adam tried to calm me down, but I just couldn't stop..."<p>

"Once I finally did calm down," he continued. "Adam told me what happened. Apparently, something possessed me and it made me kill Dan. Once it left my body, I fell unconscious and that thing went after him and Amber. Then that yellow light appeared out of nowhere and made that thing disappear. We didn't know what to do Dan's body, but we took it to the local police since we couldn't just leave it there and it seemed like the right thing to do. We were kids so we were really scared of what they were going to ask. We just told them that a weird monster appeared in the cave and it stabbed Dan with a sword. It wasn't that hard to believe considering Townsville's history and how young we were. We took some of them to where it happened, but the sword and even the blood stains were gone. For some reason, they let us off the hook as they apparently had a lead on the case. We didn't tell our parents about it. The police didn't either. They only informed Dan's parents of what happened to him. The only people who know about what really happened during that incident are me and Adam."

"What about Amber?" Sherri asked.

"She disappeared without a trace that day, including her family. Even the Mayor didn't know where they went. Adam said when that yellow light appeared, the shadow and Amber were gone by the time he could see again. Anyway, Adam and I just went on with our lives. He and his family moved to another city because they were tired of the monster attacks on the city, but we still kept in touch. I didn't talk much to others as time went on, mostly kept things to myself."

"And your hair and eyes?"

"I was still haunted by the thought that I killed one of my closest friends. I know that something was controlling me, but I can vaguely remember seeing myself killing him. I makes me feel like I could've stopped it from happening if had enough willpower. Plus it could've never happened if I agreed with him to turn back or not even going treasure hunting in the first place. The guilt drove me to the point of trying to commit suicide a few times, but whenever I was about to do it, I could always see Dan's face telling me not to so I always stopped. I eventually dyed my hair black and got colored contacts. I thought that people could see my hair and eyes' whitish color to symbolize purity and that's something I'm definitely far from. I also painted the "D" on my hat and shirt as a constant memory."

Kyle then rolled up his right sleeve to reveal his red headband tied around it, just above his elbow.

"And I just keep this around to at least remind me of the good times I had with my friends." he continued. "Dan and Adam knew I had thing for headbands and since red was my favorite color, they thought it was the perfect gift... Even though I continued on with my life, I always felt I deserved to die. When I found out about Dexter's ad in the billboards about a volunteer, I decided to go through with it. If I couldn't die on purpose, then I thought dying by accident or by someone else's hand would suffice."

"You're willing to throw your life away for just that? It's not your fault! You didn't have control so you can't be held responsible!"

"But-"

"I'm not listening to this anymore!... Let's just head back...and if you want, I know where we can recolor your hair if you really don't want people to see your real appearance..."

Sherri walked back towards the Malph's encampment with Kyle following behind her at a distance. They made it back without much trouble though Numbuh 5 was surprised to see Sherri with Kyle.

"Sherri? What are you doing here? And Kyle, what happened to your hair?"

"Uh...fashion preference." Sherri responded. "Fusion Spawn kinda ruined it. Anyway, we got what you wanted. Sorry about earlier."

"Don't trouble yourself like that. Nobody's mad at you. You should've told us what you were up to. In any case, good work guys. Now that you two are here..."

Numbuh 5 directing their attention to a KND transport vehicle. Attached by a metallic rope to its rear bumper was a large cargo container. It contained various items ranging from food to building supplies packed in cardboard boxes.

"While you were gone, we managed to recover a stolen shipment from Fuse's goons. It's supposed to go to Peach Creek, the next town east of here. You mind taking it there for us? "

"Sure." Sherri replied. "We needed to go there anyway."

Kyle sat in the cargo hold's passenger seat while Sherri manned the steering wheel. She started the engine and the two headed off eastward, following the road bound for Peach Creek Commons. The scenery between the towns was twisted and distorted by Fusion Matter or completely destroyed. There were plenty of Terrafusers and Fusion monsters scattered about in the distance, the monsters being repelled from the roads by stationed SACT agents.

"So what's Peach Creek like?" Kyle suddenly asked.

Sherri was silent for a moment. She was still thinking about what Kyle had told her.

"Well, it's like any other neighborhood: school, houses, developments, the like. Why'd you ask?"

"I heard gossip from back home that there's some weirdos living there."

"Oh, they must've meant the Eds. Yeah, they like going around with their scams trying to rip people off for their quarters. I really don't get why quarters though. Can't get much with those nowadays. Since the alien invasion, they've been a huge help though. They still occasionally do their scams, but with taros now... Oh, there's the Cul-de-Sac over there."

Kyle and Sherri came within Peach Creek's vicinity. A sign, though slightly destroyed and faded, gave the friendly "Welcome to Peach Creek!" message to the visitors. After a few turns into some streets, they were approaching a medieval-styled fortress. What made it odd besides the fact fortresses like its kind haven't been made in hundreds of years was that it was made out of cardboard boxes. It surrounded the entire cul-de-sac. At the entrance were two gigantic wooden doors with childishly-painted angry faces on them. One had its tongue sticking out while the other one had a normal mad look.

"Who made this?" Kyle asked. "Cardboard really doesn't make a good fortress against monsters..."

"You'd be surprised." Sherri replied. "The place was made by Edd, but we like to call him Double D or 'Sockhead' for some other people. He's one of the Eds. It does actually hold believe it or not. For some reason, Fuse's goons just stay away from the walls. It's like there's 'Anti-Fuse repellant' coating on them. C'mon, let's go inside."

Sherri pulled the transport to the main gate. Two boys wearing what looked like Boy Scout uniforms opened the gates and led the two inside. Their uniforms consisted of yellow short-sleeve shirts overlaid with light blue vests decorated with badges signifying their achievements though their designs were childishly drawn. They also wore light blue pants and a same color handkerchief overlaying their head. One of them was wearing a red ascot around his neck while the other kept his in his pocket.

"The Urban Rangers are happy to assist you!" they saluted.

The inside was laid out like a typical cul-de-sac although much more lively and active due to many people taking shelter here. Further down at the other end was where much more activity was taking place. Many small stands made out of cardboard as well were grouped together in a ring to function as a marketplace. Vendors were selling varieties of goods such as weapons or just clothes for people trying to keep up with the latest fashion in these darkest of times. Leading right to the center of the ring was a long red carpet. At the end was a throne also made of cardboard. Kyle immediately took notice to what was behind it. A large glowing machine stood behind the throne. Kyle assumed it was a Dexlab creation due to its design and blue-palette colors. Branching off in four directions from the main console were what looked like smaller versions of the machine connected by a white glowing light made out of data and energy particles. Sherri parked the cargo in a nearby garage close to the entrance. The two disembarked the transport and continued walking down the street.

"C'mon we have to give these transport details to King Eddy" Sherri said sarcastically.

"'King Eddy'?"

"Eddy's another one of the Eds. He usually acts as the leader of the scams. Ever since the invasion began, he took this opportunity to set up an entire business empire throughout the world. He even declared himself 'King of the Cul-de-Sac' and had a throne and red carpet made for him. Sure he's a pain, but his business is helpful to everyone. The Cul-de-Sac is practically the biggest trading center right now."

"What's that huge thing behind his throne?"

"The Great Machine. It's an invention of Dexter's that manages and stores everyone's Nanos when they're not in use and sends your Nanocom the code on how to synthesize a certain Nano. It's connected to every Nano Station in the world. It used to be behind Downtown's City Hall, but we managed to move it here before the area got destroyed."

Kyle and Sherri approached Eddy up ahead, impatiently sitting on his throne. He was shorter in height than one would expect, even shorter than Dexter. He wore a yellow shirt, blue jeans, and red shoes. He particularly had an annoyed expression.

"What do you losers want?" he asked.

"Pardon our intrusion your kingship." Sherri said. "We just delivered that stolen shipment from Genius Grove you requested. Here are the details."

Sherri handed Eddy a clipboard with various papers attached to it.

"Hmph, 'bout time they got here. I really need better people who can deliver my stuff without getting it stolen. Anyway, I'm done with you, get out of here already!"

"Kind of a snob." Kyle whispered as they headed back.

"Totally." she replied.

The two stopped at nearby stand manned by an Urban Ranger. His shop was selling wares relating to hair products: colored wigs, styled combs, hair straighteners, etc.

"Hey, Rich." Sherri said. "You still have some bottles for black, right?"

Rich nodded. He quickly went inside his storage room and came out with a bottle of black hair dye. Sherri paid for it and handed the bottle to Kyle.

"No need to thank me." Sherri said.

"But, you didn't have to pay with your money."

"Just don't worry about it. Anyway, Nanocoms have a big storage feature. You can store that for now."

Kyle browsed through the Nanocom's GUI and found the storage feature. A white light was projected from the screen. Kyle placed the bottle within the light where it began to levitate. The bottle began to dematerialize into data consisting of 0's and 1's and disappeared inside the Nanocom's projector lens.

"1 percent out of 100." Kyle read aloud.

"Dexter only programmed it to hold only a hundred things since it seemed to be plenty enough space." Sherri informed him.

They soon came to a house with a SCAMPER parked in the driveway. The pilot seemed to be just doing a system's check. He told the two that they could hop in any time.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye for now." Sherri said. "You can take this SCAMPER back to Sector V. Anyway, I guess I'll be seeing you. And I really think you should think about whether your life, heck any life, is really worth throwing away to you..."

"No meaning in dieing, huh?" Kyle quietly said to himself.

Sherri waved goodbye to Kyle as she headed back to the marketplace. Kyle headed back to Sector V afterward once she disappeared into the crowd. The ship later came to a landing in Hero Square. Upon exiting, he immediately saw a group of people huddling around causing a commotion. Kyle went to investigate. Numbuh 2 and Computress were there with some KND agents tending to a female operative. Kyle assumed the agents were the medical type based on their doctor and nurse-like attire.

"What happened to her?" Kyle asked as he tried to break through the crowd.

Numbuh 2 heard his voice and cleared Kyle's way inside.

"Numbuh 108." he replied. "She was on a recon mission in the nearby Infected Zone when she was spotted and attacked. He just dropped her off as a warning."

"He?"

"Fusion Numbuh 2, my counterpart..."


	7. Kids Next Door, Battle Stations!

**Chapter 7 – Kids Next Door, Battle Stations!**

**Author Notes: **

- the reason the Numbuh 2 Nano's 3rd power is mentioned as "unknown" is because it's a "gain extra money from killing monsters" power in the actual game. I don't intend for monsters to be randomly dropping money in the story so I'll try to come up with a new power to substitute it. The same applies to the game's Scavenge power

- any random (and most likely one-time only) character is named after a person who worked on the respective show said character represents (Ex: Numbuh 236 is named after Numbuh 1's voice actor)

* * *

><p>Inside an emergency medical tent, Kyle and Numbuh 2 were standing over a recovering Numbuh 108. The KND doctors diagnosed no life threatening injuries, but they strongly demanded bed rest for the next few days. Numbuh 108's armor had been removed and replaced with a hospital patient gown. Bandages covered her arms, legs, and especially a large portion of her head.<p>

"Why was she in enemy territory in the first place?" Kyle asked.

"Well, you've obviously seen what happened to Tech Square. What happened there is the same as what happened to countless other cities across the planet. We've needed to keep a close eye on the remaining Fusions see we would know when to expect an attack. Numbuh 108 was one of our operatives sent to spy on Fusion Numbuh 2. She accidentally got herself caught and he sent her back here hurt as a warning. If we don't move now, Fusion Numbuh 2 will definitely sniff out our other spies in no time."

"I can go-"

"No… You won't be able take him alone unless it was one-on-one. Fusion Numbuh 2 has squadrons of Fusion replicas of the average KND foot soldier. We'll just have to hit him with our own. We've already sent Numbuh 5 to go lead infiltration and sabotage mission. You can go meet up with her. I'll tell her to wait for you. Just don't alert Fusion Numbuh 2 or his goons of your presence when you sneak towards the compound."

"Wait." a voice muttered. "I'm coming too." Numbuh 108 was starting to regain consciousness as she attempted to lift herself from bed.

"Are you crazy! You can't go in the condition you're in!"

"He's the one who did this to me… It's my fight too…"

Kyle only sighed. "Look… I know you're upset. But angrily rushing inside, especially when you can't even lift your weapon, is not going to change anything. Just get some rest, okay?"

Numbuh 108 didn't reply. She only glared at Kyle for a few seconds before finally yielding and laying back down in her bed with the blankets covering her.

"The Infected Zone is south of here" Numbuh 2 told Kyle. "It was a former KND training ground. If Numbuh 5's not there, then contact me. Ever since Fusion Numbuh 2 took over, he reprogrammed the teleporter to allow only those authorized personnel with a password."

"Got it."

Kyle left the tent as he headed southward. He passed the treehouse, crossed the rest of the neighborhood, and kept going until he reached the southern forest. Almost fifty meters inside, he saw the Infected Zone's borders within a tight clearing. Aside from the Dexlab barriers, the entire training zone was enclosed within tall wooden walls. There was not a single opening in sight.

"Kyle!" Numbuh 5 called from behind a nearby tree. "Glad you could make it. You ready for your first covert mission?"

"Let's just get this over with. How's the situation?"

"Not good. They're planning to launch an attack soon. Good thing you decided to come. We could use another man on the team. We have spies scattered throughout the training ground, some in disguise and some in hiding. We begin once we trigger the alarm. Fusion Numbuh 2 should be at the other end of the place. Once we attack, we'll make our way to his location and take him out. Our full army should be nearby, ready to raid the training zone. You got that?"

Kyle nodded.

"Heh. You learn fast. Let's see if you're light on your feet."

Numbuh 5 stepped out of her hiding spot and directed Kyle to follow her. They ran along the perimeter behind the cover of trees until they found the entrance portal next to the corner of the training ground. Numbuh 5 was monitoring the dark silhouettes of the patrolling guards until a certain one made his round. The spy shined a light in three consecutive bursts and immediately went back to his regular duty.

"That's the signal." she informed Kyle. "Move!"

Numbuh 5 and Kyle immediately dashed towards the portal. Numbuh 5 proved to be a faster runner, but Kyle still proved to have decent agility. Kyle stepped onto the platform while Numbuh 5 worked on the modified control console.

"Dang Fusions messin' with our systems! Good thing they change much with _how _it works. Password…FROSTY…"

The panels beneath Kyle began to glow as he was dematerialized into bits of data. Numbuh 5 followed suit and the two were transported inside. Upon rematerializing at the other end, they were met by a group of five Fusions taking the form of KND agents, clearly waiting for their arrival. Kyle reacted with hostility by drawing his rifle, but Numbuh 5 immediately prompted him to stand down.

"Don't. They're one of us."

One of the Fusions soldiers gave a knowing smile indicating his alignment along with the others. The leader directed Numbuh 5 and Kyle inside a secret passage they had set up. It was small and dark, but it was the only way to sneak by undetected. The passage led up to a higher level onto a balcony overlooking the training ground. Another group of KND spies was waiting at the other end and guarding the doorway. Kyle saw that they had eliminated a few of the real Fusion soldiers judging from the gooey remains swept into the corner of the room. Numbuh 5 took off her hat as she quietly approached balcony's edge. She lifted her head just enough to get a clear visual view.

This section of the training ground was a large open field the size of a football field bordered by wooden walls. It was crowded with Fusion soldiers, all of them going through rigorous training courses ranging from target practice to endurance training. Their weapons were identical replicas of KND weaponry. The only differences were their green or darker coloring and their ammo being raw burning Fusion Matter.

Numbuh 5 eyed a few individual soldiers who were standing near the walls, observing the activity. Every few minutes, they flashed a hidden light in their sleeve towards the balcony, indicating that they were ready for the attack. The rest of the hidden KND operatives also showed their signals from their hiding spots like a vast network. With everyone accounted for and prepared, Numbuh 5 pulled out a communicator from her pocket.

"Kids Next Door…Battle Stations!"

On signal, one of the disguised operatives smashed the alarm button and quickly slipped into the shadows as if he was never there.

"**INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! SECURITY PROTOCOLS ACTIVATED**!"

Many confused Fusions stood idly as the weaponized defense system came online. Though it was definitely not what they expected as the system began firing upon them. Immediately afterward came many KND members emerging from their hiding places and attacking the Fusion soldiers with all kinds of weaponry. Caught off guard by the surprise attack, the Fusions began scrambling amongst each other, trying to grab the nearest weapon at their disposal to defend themselves. Fusions soldiers who escaped the open training guard attempted making their way to the weapon storage vault, but they met an unfortunate surprise.

"Hey!" one of the Fusions exclaimed in his distorted voice. There was another group of soldiers already there, blocking the vault. "What the hell are you soldiers doing? Get out of the way! We're being attacked!"

The soldiers blocking the vault raised and aimed their weapons. One of them stepped forward, wiping off the green make-up from his face and revealing himself to be human.

"You should have really kept tabs on everyone." he remarked. "You barely even noticed that there were a few extra people wandering around."

After that statement, the agent activated a remote device he held in his hand. Within seconds, the bombs they had placed inside the vault detonated, setting all of its contents ablaze. The agents then proceed to open fire on the Fusion soldiers as the leader let out a monstrous roar of frustration.

Back at the balcony, Kyle and Numbuh 5 fired their weapons into the massive crowds below. There wasn't much retaliation as the security system kept the Fusions preoccupied. Meanwhile the spies were sealing the door leading into where they were. One could hear the Fusions soldiers trying to force their way in whether it be banging their fists or firing blindly with their guns. There was no need for sealing the secret passage as the Fusion soldiers had not discovered them yet.

The KND undercover operatives still within the training grounds slowly began making their way towards the balcony to meet up with Numbuh 5. Once they had cleared a decent amount of Fusion soldiers from beneath the balcony, Numbuh 5 lowered a rope ladder. She went first, followed by Kyle, and finally a few more operatives who had used the secret passageways. The new group soon began making their way to the control room. As they came to the end of the training ground, an explosion was heard in the distance.

"Looks like the main force is here." Numbuh 5 remarked. "Alright people, move it before Fusion Numbuh 2 can escape!"

The group eliminated the remaining soldiers blocking the way and was now standing in front of the steel door leading to where Fusion Numbuh 2 was hiding. One of the operatives began picking the lock while the rest defended him. After a few minutes, plenty of agents from the main fighting force began pouring into the battlefield, easily making the fight much easier. Now with support from allies, the pick locking operative could concentrate more and managed to force the door open.

"Kyle!" Numbuh 5 exclaimed. "You're with me!"

Kyle followed Numbuh 5 inside the building while the remaining operatives closed the door behind them. He followed Numbuh 5 down the hallway and then soon came to the entrance to the Fusion's control room. Slowly, Numbuh 5 opened the door to a simple, darkly lit control room. A wooden chair in the center slowly turned around and came to a stop, revealing Fusion Numbuh 2 sitting there with a menacing expression. Just like Fusion Buttercup, he was slightly bigger than his counterpart and his attire was of a more sinister shade. His glowing green skin and red eyes were the only things brightening the room.

"I should've known you would attack after we took care of that girl." he groaned. His voice had the same creepy and distorted quality as Fusion Buttercup. Oh well, we can always try this plan again later. I'll be see ya later!"

Fusion Numbuh 2 stood up and pressed a button on his chair's armrest. Out from the wall came a KND FLAPPUH (**F**lapping **L**awnmower **A**pparatus **P**ropels **P**eople **U**p **H**igh). It consisted of a lawnmower engine and two tennis rackets attached to act as wings. Apparently the idea for the invention came when Numbuh 2 was observing a house fly. The Fusion's version was just like the Fusion soldiers' weaponry, a darker shade mixed with green compared to the original. He strapped it on like a backpack and then activated another button which caused the room's roof to open.

"There's an exit portal from this place behind me. Maybe you can try to catch me…! If you can! Hahaha!"

Fusion Numbuh 2 immediately flew out of the Infected Zone. The Dexlab shields had no function of encasing areas from overhead as Fusion Matter cannot travel airborne unless something such as an explosion propelled it into the sky. Knowing they couldn't just give up that easily, Numbuh 5 pulled Kyle along into the exit portal and the two ran after the Fusion once they were outside again. They followed him in the southward direction, but it was useless. They wouldn't be able to catch up on foot.

"Hey, guys!" a voice exclaimed.

Numbuh 108 was up ahead with a KND aircraft vehicle, a FLIERPLACE(**F**laming **L**og **I**gnited **E**xplosive **R**ocket **P**lane **L**ifts **A**nd **C**areens **E**ffortlessly). Like the name implied, it was a fireplace modified into rocket-like aircraft. Numbuh 108 was barely supporting herself with one of the wings. Luckily, a male KND member had come with her.

"Numbuh 108?" Numbuh 5 asked. "I thought you were supposed to be resting?"

"I thought this guy would try something like this so I told Ben nearby to get this."

"I… I couldn't resist…" Ben said embarrassed. "You _know_ how she gets when angry!"

"It's not your fault, Numbuh 236." Numbuh 5 replied. "In any case, great job! Get in, Kyle!"

Kyle hopped into the passenger seat behind Numbuh 5 and the two flew off once again in Fusion Numbuh 2's direction. Within a few minutes, they could spot Fusion Numbuh 2 again as a small dot in the sky.

"Shouldn't we have passed him by now?" Kyle wondered aloud.

"He must've modified that thing to go faster than ours." Numbuh 5 replied.

"Does that even make sense?"

"We're following an alien."

"…Point taken."

As they steadily got closer, Fusion Numbuh 2 spotted them coming when he heard the sound of the rocket's thrusters. He was getting extremely irritated as he didn't account for this possibility.

"What the hell!" he exclaimed as he continued flying backwards to keep the aircraft in sight. "When did you get-? Tch, doesn't matter. You can't possibly hit me from- Ack!"

From the open cockpit, Kyle had managed to shoot the FLAPPUH's main engine with his rifle. Fusion Numbuh 2 spiraled out of control for a few seconds, but he managed to regain his balance and keep himself afloat though only barely. They were already flying over Pokey Oaks which gave the Fusion hope for escape. Hoping to increase the distance between them, Fusion Numbuh 2 drew a pistol he had modified to shoot at long range and fired a barrage upon the ship. The speed and number of the lasers were too much for Numbuh 5 to dodge and maneuver through and caused her to pull back, but she still continued the pursuit.

Frustrated more than ever, Fusion Numbuh 2 continued onward, but his FLAPPUH had taken too much stress already. He was forced to crash-land atop the Malph's Mall. Conveniently for the Fusion, the encampment below was deserted due to the assault on the KND training area as it needed extra reinforcements. Though it was a mystery to why there wasn't a single SACT agent anywhere since they weren't subject to KND orders. Numbuh 5 assumed they were on a very important mission seeing as it apparently required every agent in the area.

Numbuh 5 couldn't land on the roof as there was not enough room to avoid being shot at by Fusion Numbuh 2 and she couldn't possibly leave Kyle alone to pilot the ship while she dived below. She had to settle for landing in the open area of the parking lot.

"What'll we do?" Kyle asked as he climbed out.

Numbuh 5 sat there trying to formulate a plan.

"Go after him." she said. "He's probably already fixing the FLAPPUH as we speak. We need someone who can fly this thing to chase him if he does manage to fix it in time and that's me. There should be a maintenance hallway nearby once you go through the front door. You can use it to get to the roof."

"Got it."

Before he could move, Kyle heard a voice echo in the distance. Buttercup was flying towards the mall at her fastest speed.

"Don't worry! I'll get him!"

Buttercup flew higher up to where Fusion Numbuh 2 had crashed, but he had already recovered from his crash landing. He quickly drew a gun of a strange design and shot Buttercup up close. It electrified her and sent her plummeting off the building. She crashed into the ground next to Kyle.

"Buttercup! You okay?"

"That should keep you grounded long enough while I fix the FLAPPUH." the Fusion muttered. "Stingers!"

Upon the Fusion's call, many of the mosquito-like monsters Kyle saw at the school, Cyber Stingers as the Nanocom named them, appeared from the mall's surrounding trees. Their stingers were made out of small satellite dishes while their main bodies and wings were made out of solar panels. Living in nests high in the trees, they used sunlight as their main power source and to fire lasers from their stingers. Depriving them of sunlight or draining their power didn't kill them, but it would easily leave them vulnerable to attack.

"What happened?" Kyle asked Buttercup.

"Ugh… He hit me with one of his weapons. It disables our flight powers. You'll just have to climb up to the roof before he gets away. I'll just hold off the monsters from interfering. We can't risk them ruining or stealing the equipment!"

* * *

><p>A small amount of time had passed since Fusion Numbuh 2 called in help from the Stingers. Repairs on the FLAPPUH were coming close to completion. The engine was too damaged to be repaired fully, but the Fusion only needed it to last enough to get away. Also, he was expecting Kyle's arrival very soon. Taking the cautious approach, he drew his pistol and aimed it at the only door to the roof, awaiting the moment Kyle would burst through.<p>

"Hehehe…just wait, kid." he said playfully to himself. "You'll be beggin' me to spare you life once you come through."

"I don't think I'm in the position to do that." a voice stated. "Why don't you do it instead?" Kyle had appeared behind Fusion Numbuh 2 holding his rifle against the Fusion's head.

"What the hell! How did you-!"

"I climbed the side of the mall." Kyle interrupted. "There were plenty of ladders and crates to help me get up here. I guess the mall was being renovated when you guys invaded."

"Heh, guess I'm finished." he said as he dropped his weapon on the ground. "You win. Checkmate. Still…I don't know how you managed to directly hit my FLAPPUH on the mark. You must have eyes like a hawk or maybe it was sheer dumb luck."

"I don't really get why you're impressed."

"Nevermind… Well, I guess this is goodbye…"

Fusion Numbuh 2 slowly backed up against the edge and willingly jumped off. Shocked at this decision, Kyle quickly ran towards the edge and gazed down. Fusion Numbuh 2 had become a puddle of Fusion Matter just like Fusion Buttercup. Kyle carefully made his way down to Buttercup and Numbuh 5 who were now inspecting the puddle. The Cyber Stingers had long departed once the duo became too much for them to handle.

"So you did it?" Buttercup asked.

"Well, not really. Technically, he- Hm?" Kyle's Nanocom began to vibrate again, this time with a different message.

"_Nano Synthesis material detected_." it stated. "_Synthesize Nano?_"

Kyle pressed the confirm option and aimed his wrist at the Fusion Matter puddle like before. The Nanocom shot another blue beam of light and from the glowing orb emerged a Nano version of Numbuh 2. The screen listed its powers being increased speed, teleportation to a safe location within a short distance, and an unknown power. Apparently, there were a number of Nanos who had unknown power. Dexlabs and other companies had been trying to figure out and possibly unlock what it was.

"Looks like you're getting stronger." Buttercup remarked.

"Hm? I don't really think getting more of these helps me aside from the powers thing."

Numbuh 5 chuckled in amusement. "You may not notice it, but when you collect more Nanos, their life essence gives you more endurance. You can take more hits from those monsters. You may not notice it since you're only starting getting so used to it."

"Sounds…neat… Listen, do you think you can-"

Kyle was cut off as there was a huge explosion back in Sector V's direction. He could see large amounts smoke coming from the northern forest. Something was definitely set on fire. He began worrying about what just took place and the KND operatives who were just there.

"Looks like the plan was a success." Buttercup remarked.

"What plan?"

"Numbuh 2 must've not told you." Numbuh 5 replied. "Once Fusion Numbuh 2 was stopped, we were gonna to destroy the training ground since it served no more purpose other than harboring Fusions. Now that's it no more, we have one less Infected Zone to worry about. C'mon, I'll fly you back to the treehouse so you can report."

Kyle climbed aboard the FLIERPLACE. Numbuh 5 flew the rocketship back towards Sector V with Buttercup flying alongside it. As the three approached the treehouse Numbuh 2, Numbuh 108, Numbuh 236, and many other KND operatives were waving towards them from the platform. Buttercup landed first and reported what happened while Numbuh 5 drove the ship into the treehouse's landing bay. Kyle and Numbuh 5 then went down to meet up with the others.

"Great job, Kyle." Numbuh 2 happily congratulated him. "I didn't expect you'd be the one to take out my Fusion!"

"It was no big deal..." Kyle replied in a little shy manner.

"Thanks for your help." Numbuh 5 said patting his back. "We probably won't see that guy for awhile now. Anyway, you must be tired. C'mon, you can stay in the treehouse. It must've been a long day."

"Oh, Kyle." Buttercup called out. "Yeah, if you're in Pokey Oaks you can stay at my house too. It's-…um…I have an extra room there if you need it."

Kyle was curious to why Buttercup hesitated in her offer. Nevertheless, he was happy to make a few friends this quickly. People had always avoided him when Kyle was younger. Realistically Amber, Dan, and Adam were the only real friends he ever made. Any others just avoided him or were on a "Yeah, I know him, but we don't talk much" basis. Kyle was actually starting to feel a little _grateful_ that the time machine accident happened.

"Gee. Well, uh…thanks, guys…"


	8. Assembling the Materials

**Chapter 8 – Assembling the Materials**

**Author Notes:**

- Yes, I know Dee Dee was not the Future portion of the game, but I added her here for specific purposes

- Sí, yo hablo español pero no estoy bien con el vocabulario. Trataré estar gramatical correcto con diálogos español de Eduardo, Bubbles (Si ella habla en español), Caesar, y otros

* * *

><p>The sun had arisen to signal morning though it was not as peaceful now that there was an ominous green sky threatening to consume the planet any second. Within the KND treehouse, Kyle was soundly asleep in his new and temporary bed. Kyle had slept in his current outfit since it was the only clothes he had. Numbuh 2 offered some of the clothes in the Lost &amp; Found, but Kyle was quick to refuse. He personally was not fond of wearing other people's clothes. Numbuh 5 had given his new room near the center of the treehouse. It was close enough to Numbuh 2's laboratory so Kyle could quickly meet with him for his next assignment.<p>

The alarm next to Kyle's bed had been buzzing for the last quarter-hour, loud enough to fill the entire treehouse. Kyle had always been a deep sleeper, requiring others to forcefully wake him up if they needed him early. Apparently, he neglected to inform others about this condition. Numbuh 5 was eventually forced to burst in, covering her ears, and smack him awake.

"Geez, boy. You're a heavy sleeper... We should've made this room soundproof if we knew you were gonna sleep through that alarm."

Kyle was still yawning and rubbing his cheek in slight pain. He wasn't exactly used to be woken up like that except when his mother did it (But even those moments were rare).

"Sorry..." Kyle mumbled. "Um...what's going on?"

"Nothing big right now. It's getting close to noon. You should straighten yourself out and get some breakfast... "

"Yeah, yeah, Mom." he replied sarcastically trying to fix his bedhead.

"What did you say?" she asked in an annoyed tone.

"Nothing."

"By the way, Numbuh 2 wants to see you outside. You two still have to fix the time machine."

"I know. I'll get on it."

Numbuh 5 left as Kyle was getting his things in order. He left his rifle and sword on the nearby table. He picked up the blade, stared at it, and was soon lost in his thoughts for a moment. Snapping back to reality, Kyle placed it inside his Nanocom's storage. As for the rifle, he wore green sash Numbuh 236 had given him and attached the rifle to the back. Numbuh 236 had suggested using a new and different weapon, seeing Kyle as a jack of all trades, but Kyle felt changing now would throw him of.

Kyle eventually exited onto the platform after getting lost in the treehouse. During his little sidetracking, he came across the treehouse's main generator room. He was confused why it was a room full of hamsters running on spinning wheels attached to the walls. When used, the wheels provided energy to the large battery in the center of the room. Other rooms Kyle came across seemed to belong to other members of the KND, evident by the numbers written on the doors in a similar fashion to Numbuh 2 and Numbuh 5's rooms. The room marked with a "3" was filled with colorful stuffed animals. They all had the number painted on them somewhere, usually on their bellies if they had one. The towering piles were mostly comprised of Rainbow Monkeys, a toy brand which were popular among female children and teens. Even the bed was one large stuffed animal. The other room marked with a "4" was fairly large. Parts of the tree's large branches were still there, emerging from the center and branching out in four separate directions eventually exiting the room through smashed open holes. Using the branches as the supports, a blue wrestling arena was placed there along with other workout equipment. This apparently served as a bed to whoever this belonged to judging by the lone pillow and blanket.

Outside, Kyle found Numbuh 236 doing a patrol round of treehouse. Asking for Numbuh 2's whereabouts, Numbuh 236 directed Kyle to Hero. Riding the zipline, Kyle found the operative speaking with Computress.

"Hey guys." Kyle greeted them. "You wanted me?"

"There you are." Numbuh 2 responded. "I managed to locate some material we need for the time machine, but we need you to head on over to Genius Grove to actually get them."

"Genius Grove? That's...Dexter's hometown, right?"

"Yeah, that's right. Why'd you ask?"

"Just...curious... Where is it anyway? I'm still trying to figure out the controls of the Nanocom's map..."

"West of the southern Pokey Oaks. Take the SCAMPER. The pilot'll land behind Dexter's old house. His sister, Dee Dee, should be there. She has the parts we need. Just ask for them."

"_Dee Dee... Sounds familiar..._"

"Kyle." Computress said. "I have taken the liberty of acquiring a bank account for you at Morbucks Savings and Loans seeing as how you neglected to do so during your stop in Peach Creek. We will automatically forward Taros to you upon completion of your tasks as a reward. Your Nanocom has a withdrawal feature so you don't actually have to use a terminal, but it is more traditional. Whatever you prefer."

"You couldn't have picked another bank?" Kyle asked slightly annoyed.

Morbucks Savings and Loans was the biggest bank in the country, the biggest in the world. Though large, people were still wary of it. The bank was owned by a very wealthy family. There were rumors and suspicions that instead of business, the family used people's money for their own selfish benefit. The only reason Kyle knew about this was because their headquarters were in Townsville. He grew up hearing tons of gossip. He thought these stories were the reason why the family lived outside the city and why the company head's daughter, Princess Morbucks, didn't attend school in Townsville. The latter was further justified when she became one of the Powerpuff Girls' main enemies.

"I apologize," Computress answered, "but that bank is the one we have with the closest relationship with. Plus it's the most stable one left after the invasion."

"Alright..."

"C'mon," Numbuh 2 interrupted. "_Time's_ of the essence!"

Numbuh 2 led Kyle to the nearby SCAMPER agent and gave the agent strict orders to take Kyle to Genius Grove. The ship departed once Kyle boarded and the pilot started the engines. The ship soon flew out of Sector V and over Pokey Oaks. At the southern portion of the town, the pilot turned west. Within a few minutes, the town of Genius Grove came into view. The town didn't have anything significant history that made it stand out other than it was the famed Dexter's hometown. Before Dexter became a teenager and founded Dexlabs, there would be the occasional instance of his experiments going haywire and affecting the town, but that was rare. Once Dexter moved out, chaotic incidents no longer occurred, making the town one of the actually peaceful towns for miles. Or at least it was until Fuse's invasion. Since the beginning, his minions had been trying to break inside Dexter's old laboratory located under his house. It was only known that Fuse is after _something_ locked up in there, but even Dexter refused to reveal what _that_ was. Kyle was just relieved that the heroes had managed to protect it all this time. Knowing Dexter's capabilities, it would be a sure disaster if the Fusion army broke through.

Kyle looked outside the passenger window to see this new town. It was an average one, but he came upon a strange sight. Kyle saw a large, menacing, black and red building contained within Infected Zone barriers. It was about six stories tall and cast a large shadow over the town. It seemed to be a laboratory though it was in a state of disrepair. Many parts of the building were suspended in midair. The entire building was partially submerged in Fusion Matter preventing normal access to the first floor and possibly the basement. Kyle thought a building that evil looking deserved to become an Infected Zone in the first place. The sight of a place like this always bothered him.

As the SCAMPER lowered itself in a park, Kyle's Nanocom reminded him that Dexter's house was right in front of him. What worried him was that it was directly across the street from the Infected Zone. It was a plain, simple house like the rest of the town although with a few technologic structures most likely made by Dexter. Kyle walked around and rang the doorbell. To his surprise, the same girl in a pink ballerina outfit from the time machine accident opened the door.

"Aren't you the... Wait! What are you doing here?"

"Um, I live here." the girl replied in a confused tone. "Have we met?"

"You...don't remember?" Kyle asked calmly. "You're the one who get me sent into this crazy future in the first place!"

The girl took a few seconds to realize what Kyle meant. It soon came to her with a shocked expression on her face as she suddenly knelt to the ground and grabbed Kyle's legs on the bring of tears. "Oh my- I am _SO_ sorry! I didn't know that button would do this to you! I was just trying to have fun with my little brother and then-...and then-... I'm really sorry! Please forgive me!" The girl was beginning to cry in hysterics. Kyle tried to calm her down. It was obvious she had been dealing with this guilt her entire life.

"Listen... Just calm down. It's true I'm still a little mad, but...I guess I can forgive you now that I've...seen how sorry you've been if the guilt's been eating you up. Truth be told...I've been dealing with the same kind of thing."

"Y-You have?" she said, wiping tears from her face. "I was afraid that I accidentally killed you... Dexter said it didn't, but I just couldn't believe it..."

"But I'm here now, alive and well, aren't I?"

"...Hehe. You're right... I'm just glad you didn't end up in a place that Fuse didn't absorb yet. I bet you're having a terrible time here..."

"Well, yeah. I have no more home to go back to, but on the bright side... I've met tons of new people, made new friends, and I'm actually doing something with my life. That's something I probably never would've done. If anything...I should be _thanking_ you for pressing that button..."

"R-Really?" Dee Dee was in disbelief, but she eventually smiled again. "Not just me, but Dexter too. The Time Machine would've never been built without him. Oh and speaking of Dexter, have you heard from him? He's not answering his phone whenever I call. He's probably too busy working with the others on sending you back, huh?"

"Oh, um..." Kyle was trying to quickly think of a convincing answer. Dee Dee had already gone through enough now that finding out her own brother had died would only makes things worse. "Y-Yeah! He's helping to rebuild his Time Machine. He wants me to get back to the past as soon as possible so he's been working nonstop. You want me to give him a message?"

"No, it's alright. Well, just tell him that his sister misses him... Oh, I forgot to ask why you're here."

"Numbuh 2 said he called you for some parts I needed to pick up."

"Oh yeah! Wait here a minute." Dee Dee went inside the house for a few moments and quickly came back with a box full of technological parts. "Here they are. I don't know what they do, but Numbuh 2 said they were safe to dismantle."

"Thanks. I'll be heading off. It was nice to fully meet you in person."

Kyle headed back to the park and spoke to the SCAMPER agent again. They immediately flew back to Sector V and parked in the treehouse's landing bay. Kyle then delivered the parts to Numbuh 2's laboratory. The 2x4 officer had already begun construction. The basic framework was set up and a few metal plates were already screwed in. Though looking at it, Kyle could clearly tell it didn't match the time machine design Dexter made.

"I thought you had the blueprints for the thing?" Kyle questioned as he walked inside.

"I do." Numbuh 2 replied. "We're just using a different model. Anyway, you have those parts, right?"

"Right here." Kyle set the box down on the nearby work table as Numbuh 2 immediately got to work at a breathtaking speed. "So..." he awkwardly began, "Dee Dee asked me about Dexter..."

"You told her!" Numbuh 2 exclaimed accidentally dropping his welder.

"I'm not heartless enough to flat out make a girl cry! But...was it the right thing to do? She already cried when she recognized me. I thought telling her about Dexter would only make it worse. But I also thought she deserved to learn about the death of her own brother."

"Well, what's done is done. You can't change the past... Er-, not without a time machine anyway, but you get the idea."

"Yeah, but..."

"I need you to go to the Cul-de-Sac." he said quickly, obviously wanting to change to subject. "Get some paste from Eddy."

"Paste? Can't you just weld it?"

"The amount of energy we have to use to power the time machine will break it apart. The Eds' special paste will manage to keep it together. If Eddy's gonna be cheap, then tell him the fate of the world relies on it. If that doesn't work...sigh, put it on my tab..."

"I'll try. Though I don't think I could convince him after my first impression of him."

Kyle left the treehouse and took a SCAMPER again to the Cul-de-Sac. As they approached, the pilot alerted Kyle of something troubling. Looking out the window, there seemed to be smoke coming from the fortress. Not taking chances of a possible Fusion attack, the pilot landed the SCAMPER in front of the Cul-de-Sac gates. Kyle quickly exited despite the pilot's warning and rushed inside also ignoring the Urban Rangers cautioning him as well.

Inside, dirt, sand, and smoke clouded everyone's vision. One could only see a few feet ahead. The sounds of panicking screams flooded the area. Kyle could only make out the dark shadows of people running in fear. He soon heard a loud monstrous roar from further inside. He was starting to think about getting out while he still had a chance, but he also thought stopping this thing would help him get the paste from Eddy. As Kyle approached the marketplace, he saw that portions of it left in ruin. Many of the stands and stores had been overturned along with their contents scattered across the ground. There were many shadows crowding around the Great Machine. Kyle assumed there were trying to protect it. As Kyle tried to approach the group, a large creature quickly ran by him. From the short glimpse, it looked like a large monster though it didn't seem to be of Fusion variety. It had purple fur, pointed horns that bent upwards, and wore pants with a belt that had a skull buckle attached to it. It seemed to be intelligent, bilingual even, as it was screaming in both English and Spanish.

"Los monstruos! Los monstruos! Help me!" it screamed.

The monster soon began charging towards Kyle in its panicked frenzy. Kyle immediately reacted by summoning his Buttercup Nano and ordered for her Misfire power. The Nano's hand glowed, charging up energy, and punched the creature directly on the forehead. Upon impact, the monster began to wobble back dizzily and fall on the ground.

"Monstruos...scary..." it mumbled as it fell unconscious.

"Hey!" a voice exclaimed. Sherri came running to Kyle from a nearby building.

"Thanks a lot for calming him down." Sherri said. "He would've destroyed the place if you never showed up."

"What's this monster doing here in the first place?" Kyle asked.

"He's not a monster, dummy. He's an Imaginary Friend. His name is Eduardo."

Imaginary Friends, a concept that continues to baffle scientists to this day. All people know is that it's only possible if the person had a creative imagination which usually reached its peak in childhood. When a child dreamed of a friend, he became real. Simple as that. There was, unfortunately, a downside. Eventually, the child would normally have to abandon the friend as he would grow up. These Friends would hopefully be sent to Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends where they could be adopted by another child.

"Foster's was destroyed days ago." Sherri informed him. "Some of us are taking in the survivors like this guy here. He's been having a rough time after his friends...um...didn't make it. Anyway, thanks again for calming him down. So what're you doing here?"

"Well, I'm here to-"

"Thank God that problem is over!" a voice interrupted. Eddy had come out of his hiding spot and was walking towards the group. "I thought this guy was going to destroy the place! Listen, I don't normally do this, but I'll let you have something. No charge...maybe no charge. Depending on the item. Still have to making a living, y'know?"

"Thanks...I guess? I need-"

"_Only_ if you keep calming this guy down when he rampages again. He does this _every freaking time_ he sees one of Fuse's creeps. So what'cha need?"

"I need some of your paste."

"Oh, um...there's a problem with that..."

"...What...?"

"Well, the stuff I need to make it is really hard to find and expensive to buy from sellers so there's no way I can give it to you without causing this place to fall apart especially around this time with Fuse. Unless you're willing to pay the million Taros..."

"_Million__!_ But Numbuh 2 really needs it for-"

"_But_, if you're really that desperate, then find Fusion Eddy. That jerk stole my last supply of that stuff. If you hurry, you may be able to get it back."

Kyle was strongly resisting the urge to punch Eddy in the face. He eventually pulled through, realizing that would accomplish nothing. He only turned around and headed towards the nearby SCAMPER pilot without a word.


	9. Mandark's House

**Chapter 9 – Mandark's House**

**Author Notes: **

**- **for anyone who never knew or new to playing FusionFall, Fusion Eddy (in the Future) was originally in the Mandark's House Infected Zone when the game was first released. Then, for some reason, they changed it to Pokey Oaks Junior High Infected Zone. Finally, they removed the entire Future portion of the game and he's where he is now

* * *

><p>"<em>Fusion Eddy<em>

_Threat level: Low  
><em>

_Last known location: Genius Grove_

_Notable activities: Aiding in the destruction of the Darklands and Endsville areas  
><em>

_Other notes: Avoid if spotted with Fusion Ed and/or Fusion Edd"  
><em>

Kyle read off Fusion Eddy's record in his Nanocom's database to himself as the SCAMPER headed to Genius Grove. Once there he approached Dee Dee's house and found her watering her backyard garden. It was filled mostly with pink, yellow, and white versions of various flowers. She even had a small pond in the center with a few fish swimming inside. It was a peaceful sight despite its small size, but it was certainly an improvement when compared to the ruined surroundings.

"Oh hey, um...what's your name?" she asked embarrassed.

"Did I forget to tell you? Name's Kyle. Sorry about that..."

"It's alright. So what are you here for? Numbuh 2 needs more parts?"

"Fusion Eddy stole some paste and we need it if we want to complete the time machine. Apparently his last known location was here. Do you know more?"

"Wait, Eddy from Peach Creek?"

"Yeah, that one?"

"I've seen him a few times when I went on shopping trips to the Cul-de-Sac. Anyway, I wasn't sure if it was a Fusion or not, but last night, while I was getting ready for bed, I thought I saw Eddy wandering around here. I saw him go inside that icky Mandark's house. I thought he was just looking for more stuff to scam people with like usual. Maybe that's the Fusion you're looking for?"

"Worth a try. Inside the Infected Zone right?"

"Yeah. Hold on. I'll go with you."

"A-...Are you sure? I mean you can get in some big-"

"Don't worry about it! I know my way around there plus I can get you through the security no problem!"

"Well, I guess..."

"Consider it part of my apology for getting you sent here~!"

Dee Dee led Kyle across the street and inside the Infected Zone. She showed him a certain strip of land that was elevated enough to reach the building's third floor. They approached a window near it and climbed inside. There were dozens of red motion detectors and trip beams set up in the hallway. Telling Kyle to step back, Dee Dee utilized her ballerina skills and gracefully danced past the defense unharmed and went inside a nearby room. Within a few seconds, the defense system immediately deactivated and she came out.

"You're really something if you're able to do that easily." Kyle remarked.

"It's easy if you spent years taking lessons. I was only able to stop the defense system on the main floors. Though we don't really need to stop the basement ones, do we? Fusion Eddy should be here somewhere."

"Maybe we should split up. I'll take the top, you take the bottom-...well, the deepest you can go."

"Leave it to me! The stairs are that way. The elevator won't work because the Fusion Matter snapped the ropes. And the stairs won't take you all the way to the top. You'll have to search for another one."

Kyle and Dee Dee went off in separate directions. The top floor was Kyle's priority. We would start there and work hi way down. After a few minutes of walking down hallways, he heard echoing footsteps. He didn't want to call Dee Dee in case she was busy handling something else or the footsteps weren't from the Fusion. Fortunately, it wasn't heading towards him so Kyle continued following the sounds. On the way, he found the staircase Dee Dee had previously mentioned and climbed up. It seemed whatever was making the footsteps was unknowingly leading Kyle to the top floor. Continuing onward, Kyle finally arrived at the final staircase to the top room. Climbing it, he went down the hallway, hid against the wall, and peered inside the open room. Sure enough, Fusion Eddy was inside. He was leaning against a railing and shouting orders to his minions. They were Fusions taking the form of naked humanoids (minus the...unmentionables, of course). They were all constructing a very large machine. Attached to the front was a giant spinning drill head. Two Fusions manning a control console were testing its sharpness by making it drill through a number of materials. The machine itself seemed to move using hover technology as a group of scientist type Fusions were modifying the back end.

"Hurry up, you stupid slowpokes!" Fusion Eddy exclaimed. "We need to finish this thing so we can finally break into Dexter's lab!"

"_Great..._" Kyle thought. "_Now I need to call Dee D-_"

"B-Boss! Intruder!" a voice exclaimed.

Kyle turned around and saw a minion in the hallway had spotted him. The Fusion already had his weapon drawn.

"Boss! We need to get rid of this guy! He might blow our plan. Everyone! Charge at him!"

"_Crap!_"

The Fusion immediately fired his rifle. Kyle had no choice but to duck inside the room where Fusion Eddy was. He knew he would be outnumbered from making this choice, but it was life or death. He began firing back, mostly at those still unaware of his presence in order to even the odds, but it only left a small dent in their numbers. As Kyle was backed against the wall, he tried to finally aim his weapon at Fusion Eddy, but he had suddenly disappeared.

"_Where the heck did Fusion Eddy go? I swore he was right there..._"

"Men!" a voice exclaimed. "Get out of here! I'll deal with this loser!" Fusion Eddy was coming down a stairway from an upstairs balcony. He seemed to be enjoying the moment judging by his malicious smile. "So you're the guy who took out two of our Fusions, both of them in the span of two days even. I'm actually impressed you somehow managed to take out Fusion Buttercup. She is one of our best fighters. Hehe..."

"Why are you so confident if you know I was involved in taking out your high ranking members?" Kyle asked. He wanted to stall for time. There was no clear escape route. The only exit was the way he came in and Fusion Eddy was the closest to it. Plus there was no telling if he was hiding a weapon of his own.

"Heh... Because I have control of the entire building...including every hidden inside it!" Fusion Eddy immediately slammed one of the buttons on the wall next to him. The Fusion then grabbed hold of a railing as the room began shaking.

"W-What the hell are you-!"

* * *

><p>Dee Dee was deactivating the final defense system on the first floor. Every door and window on the first and second floors were sealed to prevent Fusion Matter from flooding them though the same couldn't be said for the basement as there was a massive leak. Dee Dee opened the door to a large central chamber and merrily skipped inside humming a joyful tune. She looked around the circular room, shining a flashlight she had found. She couldn't find anything besides a few piles of scrap metal, steel crates, and open barrels. The ceiling was so highly elevated that one would need an elevator to get up; it seemed to go up to the roof of the building.<p>

"Aw man... Looks like Fusion Eddy isn't here. Guess I better tell Kyle." Dee Dee pulled out her own personalized Nanocom and contacted Kyle. The call was answered and the connection seemed a little staticky, but Dee Dee assumed it was due to the laboratory's "magneticky fields or something". "Hey, Kyle. Fusion Eddy isn't here. He's probably where you're going. Do you want me to come up...? Hello...? Kyle...? Are you there?" The audio contained even more static now. It was difficult to make out intelligible words from the output.

"So-...*bzzt*...you're the one who-...*bzzt*...I'm impressed..."

"Why are you-...*bzzt*...high ranking..."

"Kyle?" Dee Dee said aloud. "What's going on? Can you hear me? Hello?"

"-because...*bzzt*...I have control on the entire building-...!"

"What the hell are you-!"

"Kyle!" Dee Dee exclaimed. "What's happening!"

Hearing the sound of a large crack forming, Dee Dee immediately looked up and saw the ceiling collapsing. Debris began falling everywhere. Among them, Dee Dee spotted Kyle falling as well. He would die if he hit ground at the rate he was going.

"Kyle!"

Dee Dee quickly drew an anti-gravity gun she used in case of monster attacks. She carefully aimed at Kyle and fired. Hitting its mark, it encased Kyle in bright red barriers that slowly merged and transformed into the shape of his own body. It slowly brought his fall to a halt as Dee Dee pulled him to safety. Now on stable footing, Kyle then summoned his two Nanos to protect them. Buttercup's Miss Fire destroyed large pieces they couldn't avoid while Numbuh 2's Nonstop Flight teleported everyone short distances whenever Nano Buttercup was preoccupied. By the time the two were finally safe, Kyle's Nanos had exhausted their energy and were forced to retreat inside his Nanocom. It would a considerable amount of time for them to .

"Thanks, Dee Dee." Kyle said panting. "I thought I was gonna die... I owe you...big time."

"Hehe! Don't mention it~!"

"Fusion Eddy was upstairs, but I was spotted and that creep collapsed the floor under me. He has control of this entire place. How are we supposed to beat him?"

The room began to shake vigorously, knocking the two over. The outer rim of the floor collapsed and fell into a Fusion Matter-filled pit below. Kyle and Dee Dee were now trapped on a circular platform. The two then heard a laugh coming from above. Fusion Eddy was standing on a hovering platform that was descending into the room.

"Now that you're trapped here, I can have all the fun I want!"

Kyle quickly drew his rifle, aimed at Fusion Eddy, and fired. The Fusion responded by summoning an energy shield of his own that deflected the rifle's shots.

"I've heard about your apparent sniping skills from the monsters that saw Fusion Numbuh 2's defeat so I prepared!"

"Dammit! What can we do now?"

"Kyle," Dee Dee whispered. "I...found a rocket launcher on my way here. Do you think you can get him with it?"

"I...might, but I'll need to get in close to do it. I never even used one before."

"Leave that to me! Here. Take it." Dee Dee handed the rocket launcher the materialized from her Nanocom to Kyle. It was smaller than Kyle had thought, about the same size of his rifle, but designed differently to accommodate firing explosive rockets. "What's the plan?"

"We'll try to push him against the wall so he has less room to try to get away. Ready?"

"Whenever you are." she replied enthusiastically.

Kyle and Dee Dee split in two directions towards Fusion Eddy in a crescent formation. Kyle fired his rifle while Dee Dee kicked the smaller debris at the Fusion. Fusion Eddy couldn't handle defending himself from two separate sides and suffered some minor injuries to himself and the platform, but he easily managed to stay afloat.

"You still wanna fight that way, huh? Fine with me! Let's see how you deal with this!"

Fusion Eddy activated the weapon system hidden inside the walls. Panels behind the Fusion opened up, revealing laser turrets and robotic claws which began targeting the duo. Kyle and Dee Dee had to cancel their advance and regroup. While backstepping away, a claw had managed to cut Kyle's left arm while a laser had scraped Dee Dee's left leg.

"Dee Dee!" Kyle exclaimed. "You okay?"

"I'm fine... What about you?"

"It's fine. I'm ambidextrous anyway. You don't need to worry."

"Okay, but how are we gonna get to him now?"

"We just have to be fast enough. You can kick with your right leg, right?"

"Yeah, definitely."

"Good. We'll go together. When we're in front of him, do you think you can launch me towards him?"

"I think I can do it. Jump on my leg when I'm front of him."

Fusion Eddy tried to take advantage of the situation by attempting to ram them, but they already made their move. Fusion Eddy quickly retreated as Kyle fired rounds at his shield. The Fusion was too preoccupied with protecting himself that he neglected to remember the wall behind him. At the speed he was going, the platform was instantly lodged into the wall. The crash also made Fusion Eddy accidentally drop the device that produced his shield. Dee Dee, now standing at the edge of the platform, managed to catch the device and used it to deflect the turrets' lasers and block the claws. Kyle stood right behind her slashing the claws with his sword and firing plasma shots at the turrets. Once everything was destroyed, Dee Dee began to twirl around, steadily building up power and speed. Kyle jumped onto her leg once she gave the word. With all her might, Dee Dee then launched Kyle toward Fusion Eddy's platform with her kick.

"Any last words?" Kyle asked as he landed and pointed the rocket launcher at the Fusion.

"You're not going to get away with this!" Fusion Eddy angrily exclaimed. "Fuse will eventually take you out!"

Kyle smirked and leaped off in a somersault. As he faced the Fusion, he aimed the rocket launcher at the platform and fired. The rocket exploded and it destroyed the platform upon impact. The propulsion from firing the rocket sent Kyle back towards Dee Dee who used the anti-gravity gun once again to pull him to safety.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah...I'm fine. C'mon, Let's get out of here."

Dee Dee used the gun one final time on some of the leftover debris to form a temporary bridge to the exit.

"This won't hold long. Hurry up!"

The two make their way across as the bridge collapsed when Kyle reached the other side. They were lucky as they looked back to see the whole platform finally collapse into the Fusion Matter pool. It had been suspended by a small pillar the entire time and it finally gave way from the extra weight. Inside the pit, Kyle could see the submerged remains of the machine Fusion Eddy had been building.

"Well that takes care of him... Too bad we never got the glue. He used it all on that machine... But it was a good thing it fell when he made the floor collapse... I should stop talking to myself. Hehe... C'mon, let's get out of here."

"Wait!" a voice exclaimed. It was coming from the chamber. Fusion Eddy was climbing out of the room though he was obviously struggling to do so.

Kyle only stared at him. "You Fusions really are stubborn ones to go down."

"Heh... I just wanted to give you one last present..."

The Fusion limped against the wall as he got up. He smashed one last button and collapsed on the floor, turning into a Fusion Matter puddle. Kyle's Nanocom automatically detected it and created an Eddy Nano from it. As Kyle put it inside his Nanocom, ear shattering alarms went off throughout the building.

"**ALERT! ALERT! SELF-DESTRUCT ACTIVATED. ALL PERSONNEL PLEASE EVACUATE THE BUILDING IMMEDIATELY. HAVE A NICE DAY.**"

"Damn it! He just had to activate the freaking self-destruction button! Hurry up Dee Dee, we need to get out of here fast!"

"Follow me!"

Kyle followed Dee Dee through many twists and turns. Sparks and flames were starting to fill the hallways as they progressed back to the entrance. Small explosions began to occur afterwards, but thankfully they didn't present too much trouble for the two.

"**TOTAL DESTRUCTION TO BE EXECUTED IN 10...9...8...**"

The two climbed a staircase and finally came to the window where they originally entered from.

"**7...6...5...**"

"Hurry!"

"**4...3...2...1...BYE-BYE...**"

Kyle and Dee Dee jumped out the window and dove for the portal, instantly sending them outside the barriers. The teleportation mechanics made the two fly out the other end, surprising the Dexbot attendant making inspections as they fell on the ground. An explosion that could be heard for miles filled the air. Mandark's laboratory was instantly up in flames in a raging inferno. The Infected Zone shield barriers protected against most of the flying meteor shower of debris, but they could only reach so high as some of the meteors started raining down upon the surroundings. Kyle attempted to shield Dee Dee hoping to protect her in case any falling parts fell on them. The Buttercup and Numbuh 2 Nanos weren't even close to regaining their energy and Kyle didn't have enough time to look up Nano Eddy's powers. But it was time to learn when the newly created Nano emerged from Kyle's Nanocom and produced a glowing blue shield that surrounded them. Once the rain had ceased, the Nano disappeared as quickly as he came and the shield faded into thin air.

"That was a close one." Kyle said panting and wiping the dirt from his clothes. "Are you okay, Dee Dee? Dee Dee?"

Dee Dee was still on the ground, clutching her leg in pain. The injury she received earlier had gotten worse. It was starting to bleed heavily from putting too much strain on it.

"Oh, God! Are you okay?"

"Ugh...yeah I'm-Urgh...fine... Your Eddy Nano. I think Dexter mentioned one time he has a healing power. Use it...ugh, please!"

Kyle resummoned Eddy Nano again, though he looked slightly annoyed that he had to work again so soon. He hovered closer to Dee Dee and took out small jawbreakers from his pockets. He shouted "Jawbreaker Break" before throwing his special candy on the wound. It healed almost instantaneously, not a trace of any injury left. The Eddy Nano was finally exhausted as it went back inside Kyle's Nanocom to join his resting comrades.

"Thanks..."

"Does it still hurt? Or do you want to carry you inside your house?"

"I can walk. What about you? Your arm got hurt much more than my leg."

The thought had slipped Kyle's mind. He honestly didn't recall feeling much pain when using his injured arm. _Didn't I still fight with it?_ He turned his to examine the wound more closely. It was covered in blood, but feeling revealed it to be completely healed. Realizing this, Kyle quickly covered it with his hand and tried to put on the most convincing smile.

"Uh...it's fine! I just need to let it rest for a moment!"

"Oh, how about you stay at my house? I have some spare medical supplies in the closet."

"Y-Yeah... Thanks Dee Dee... Go on ahead. I'll call Numbuh 2 first and tell him what happened so he doesn't start worrying about me."

"Okey dokey!"

Dee Dee walked back to her house while Kyle sat down on the sidewalk. Once she was inside, Kyle wiped the blood from his wound to make sure he didn't imagine things. Sure enough, his arm had healed and only a scar remained.

_What the hell?_


	10. Blast from the Past

**Chapter 10 – Blast from the Past**

**Author Notes:**

- I originally intended to include this as a flashback in the original story, but I thought I'd just do it now.

- Monkey Minions named after Rob Renzetti and Chris Savino.

* * *

><p>Dexter's house stood in peaceful silence. It was midnight as Dee Dee slept comfortably in her bed. She had gone to sleep earlier than normal to help her leg recover. Nano powers had the potential to instantly heal an injury, but one would have to deal with some pain as a side effect when a certain time had passed.<p>

In the house's guest room, Kyle was still awake. He laid in his bed staring out the window to his side. Mandark's laboratory still stood there in ruin with small but harmless fires burning whatever they could find. Kyle got up and knelt down by the windowsill. Resting his head on his crossed arms, he stared at the stars above. Nighttime was still the same as he remembered it. Aside from Planet Fusion's imminent approach, the stars never lost their qualities. Kyle spent time making out the constellations his mother had shown him as a boy. It brought back some happy memories and made Kyle realized how much he missed her.

"_Wonder what she did after finding out I was gone..."_

Kyle promised himself to find one more constellation before attempting to go to bed again. As he found the last few stars of Luna, sudden sparks of electricity appeared in the sky. It wasn't lightning for it was too unnatural. Steadily, the sparks began occurring more frequently and started converging in one spot. Once enough had gathered together, a large, swirling vortex immediately appeared above the mountain range to the north. Kyle saw a quick glimmer of light before a large steaming object shot out of the vortex at an astounding speed. Kyle watched it zoom right over the house and almost fell back from the intense wind that followed. When it died down, Kyle ran out the backdoor. Judging by the smoke, the object had crashed in the forest, leaving several fallen trees in its path and tearing open the earth.

"What was that?" Dee Dee asked. The noise had woken her and she came down to investigate.

"I have no idea. Some weird thing just fell out of the sky."

"Was it a terrafuser?"

"Way too big for one. Plus it came out of some vortex... I'm checking it out."

"What about your arm?"

"It's fine. I'll just...won't use it..."

Dee Dee nodded and slowly closed the door behind Kyle, watching run off into the forest. There were burn marks, but none of them were serious enough to ignite a forest fire. If anything, Kyle had enough raging infernos for a while. Deeper inside at the other side of the forest, he saw the object had crashed in a small grove, specifically a large waterfall that was right next to it. Apparently, someone was a frequent visitor of this place judging by the ruined marble benches and cultivated flowers.

Kyle carefully approached the waterfall to inspect the object closer. The crash had caused some of the cliffside to collapse on top of it, but fortunately half of it was still exposed. The water was drenching the object and creating a cloud of steam that made things barely visible. Kyle waited for the steam to clear and found the object to be an alien spaceship. Kyle had seen many news reports from Bellwood with pictures of them. It was medium-sized and the design was of a warship variety, shaped like a fighter jet and made out of a brownish metal with glowing orange domes which seemed to act as an energy provider for the ship. Assessing its condition, something had obviously gone wrong with the engines during its travel.

The cockpit dome opened by the time Kyle found it. Shrouded by the smoke released from the dome's opening, Kyle could see a pair of bright red eyes intently staring at him. By instinct, he thought it was a Fusion. Before he could even move, the creature at him with astonishing speed and, with his large arms, forcefully held him to the ground. Whatever it was, its grip was intensely strong. Kyle could only move his arms though barely. Fighting back clearly wasn't an option. His rifle was still attached to his back (and causing some serious back pain now that he was lying on it),his Nanos were still resting inside the Nanocom, and he was in no position to properly use his sword.

"Hold still, human!"

Kyle couldn't believe what he saw one the creature's face was revealed. It was the infamous alien conqueror, Vilgax. Kyle had seen his battles with Ben Tennyson, his mortal enemy, a few times on television. The alien stood a towering height above humans, about the height of a one-story building. The large broadsword on his back simply added to his intimidating appearance. His head greatly resembled an octopus with its tentacles acting like a beard. He wore black under armor though the sleeve covering his right arm was torn off to reveal his muscularity. A red breastplate covered his chest, a brown utility belt circled his waist, and blue armor covered his legs and feet in a boot-like fashion. He also wore a yellow shoulder protector on his left arm and a gauntlet of the same color.

"You've come at the perfect opportunity." he continued. He sounded pleased.

Vilgax pulled out a small device from his utility belt which then expanded into an "X" shape. Vilgax let go of Kyle as the machine, scurrying like a spider, attached itself to Kyle's chest. A bright red light came on in the center once it was firmly placed.

"W-What is this?" Kyle asked worriedly. He tried pulling it off, but doing so only made the grip even tighter. The light even started to blink on and off at an extremely slow rate.

"Do not struggle unless you wish to die. This is insurance that you will help me. Once you do so, I'll let you go."

"_Help an evil alien overlord or die right here..._"

"Well? Answer me!"

"...Okay... What do you want?"

"As you can clearly see, I crash landed on this miserable planet. While my ship was falling, one of my main components broke off and landed somewhere in this settlement. You are going to find it while I make repairs so I can escape this accursed time period."

Those last two words stuck to Kyle immediately. "Time period? You time traveled here?"

"What does it matter to you? Hurry up and find that missing component, vermin! Here, this tracking device will lead you too it." Vilgax tossed Kyle another device. All it had was a basic screen, an antennae, and button to turn the device on and off.

"What does it look like?"

"Similar to my ship, obviously. Move already! You're trying my patience! That detonation timer won't last forever!"

"_This damn thing is timed!"_

Kyle hurried off, following the device's radar. The missing component had landed somewhere in the western portion of the town. Once back in town, the streets were completely devoid of life. This was normal now if there weren't any monsters, but at night they were much more ominous now. No one could know what was hiding in the shadows. Kyle could see glimpses of people staring at him through the window curtains. The crash had awoken most of the neighborhood, but they were too scared to leave the safety of their houses. In this darkness, Kyle wondered if people were mistaking him for an evil alien soldier scanning for lifeforms thanks to Vilgax's "gift".

The radar's signal was getting stronger as Kyle came to the end of the town. But this was also an edge of the world. In darkness, the Fusion Matter ocean seemed a little less depressing. The lack of enough light made it almost seem like normal water. But facts were facts, and Kyle knew there were miles of thriving life beyond this point.

The tracking device pointed towards a nearby hill. As Kyle approached, he heard the sound of somebody laughing up ahead. He got down on all fours and slowly crawled up the hill since the blinking light on his chest would easily give him away. Kyle peered over the summit to see another swirling vortex although this one was green and in the ground. Next to it, he saw a shadowed figure. Kyle couldn't see much of him, but he seemed to wearing a long cape that slid across the ground as he walked. The figure then tossed something inside. The vortex flashed brightly for a second and the person laughed in confidence. He was male judging from his high-pitched voice, but Kyle wasn't close enough to hear what he was saying. Whoever this person was, he wasted no time as he hurried off in the direction of Pokey Oaks.

"_That was weird..._"

Seeing it safe to stand up now, Kyle headed towards the crashed component. He was wondering why the figure hadn't taken noticed of it as it was only a few meters nearby. The piece was even still releasing steam, extremely hard to not notice. Aside from that thought, Kyle stored the piece in his Nanocom. The heat wouldn't be a problem as it would disappear once properly converted into data.

Glancing at his timer, Kyle hurried back to Vilgax's crash site as fast he could. He returned to see Vilgax's ship already in working condition. It was slightly dented and scratched from the crash and falling boulders, but the smoke had finally disappeared. Vilgax was leaning against a nearby tree, arms crossed and impatiently waiting for Kyle's return.

"Where have you been, human? How hard is it for vermin like you to find a simple Highbreed Warp Drive?"

"I found what you wanted." Kyle retorted. "That's all that matters, right? Just get this _damn thing_ off me!"

"And why should I let a member of an inferior species live?"

Kyle was about to lash out in frustration that Vilgax went back on his word. But he restrained himself and held up his wrist to show his Nanocom to Vilgax. It projected a holographic image of the Highbreed Warp Drive Vilgax wanted so much. Kyle hoped this plan would work. The only alternative was to fight, but he wouldn't stand a chance against this alien with his handicap.

"See this? If I die, it'll go along with me."

"And what's stopping me from simply ripping it off your hand?"

"It knows my DNA." Kyle bluffed. "It won't respond if it detects someone else and only I can't remove it!" (Though in reality, Kyle would later find out his lie held some truth to it)

"Just like the Ultimatrix of that infernal Tennyson... Graugh! Fine!"

Vilgax pressed a button on his gauntlet. The device on Kyle's chest detached itself and scurried off a few meters away where it immediately exploded once it was a safe distance away. Now safe, or at least he hoped so, Kyle rematerialized the warp drive in front of Vilgax, fulfilling their bargain. Vilgax picked up the device and began the reattachment process for his ship. Kyle didn't move from his position, not because of fear, but because he had one more question on his mind.

"Why did you come to this time period?"

"That is none of your concern. Run off before I decide to kill you right there!"

Not wanting to risk further agitating Vilgax than he already was, Kyle heeded his words and ran back to Dexter's house. Dee Dee was standing by the door when he got there, anxiously waiting his return.

"Where've you been?"

"Long story to put in detail, but it was Vilgax. He forced me to help him..."

"Vilgax? He disappeared months ago. Where's he been?"

"He time traveled...just like me."

"What did he make you do? You didn't get hurt, did you?"

"He made go across town to get a missing part. I'm fine though."

"Well...you should tell Numbuh 2 about this. But c'mon, night is a dangerous time to be outside."

Kyle said goodnight to Dee Dee as they went back to their individual rooms. Exhausted after being up so late, Kyle finally fell asleep as soon as he fell on top of his bed.

Meanwhile back outside, Vilgax finished attaching the Highbreed Warp Drive to the front of his ship. Pleased that it was fully working, he got in the cockpit and started the engines. The ship slowly rose above the tress until it was high enough the sky. The warp drive then shot a white beam ahead which formed another vortex in the sky. Vilgax pushed a lever, causing to the ship to fly at maximum speed as it disappeared in a flash.

Back at the crash site, a different shadowed figure calmly walked out of the forest and watched Vilgax's departure. His pulled out a pocketwatch and opened the lid to look at the time, closing it not long afterward.

"Looks like Vilgax finally made his move... Oh, and the other lad's errands are going right on schedule."

* * *

><p><em>Sector V - The Next Morning<em>

Progress on the Time Machine was going smoothly when Kyle returned to the lab. The frames and panels were already set up and programmed by KND scientists. Numbuh 2 was now working on the internal devices and some of the more complex programming.

"You sure you can really build this?" Kyle asked. "I mean, Dexter's stuff is a lot different from your 2x4 tech."

"Trust me. Once I became an undercover operative, I learned a lot about building non-2x4 tech. Top of my class...! Well...second anyway, but that's still impressive! Though I could really use some help with the tedious stuff. Geez, where the heck is Mandark?"

Mandark was the founder of Mandark Industries and long time rival of Dexter. A prodigy just like the boy genius himself, he also created advanced technology for the public. The thing, however, was that these inventions were basically blatant imitations of Dexlab products though with Mandark's own black and red one. Though some people actually preferred his versions of products since they followed cool or evil-looking trend.

"Where's he been?" Kyle asked. "I've always heard he mainly sticks to Tech Square, but since that got destroyed..."

"That's what I want to know. He pulled out of there real quickly when we warned them that an invasion force was coming. No one's seen him since. We tried his old house and lab, but he wasn't there either."

"His old lab got destroyed by Fusion Eddy so..."

"Well, wherever he is. We need to find him ASAP. I may have the blueprints to build this thing, but only he can finish the programming and actually makes this thing work!"

Kyle was surprised by this certain bit of information. A missing person was his only hope if he wanted to return home. "What about Computress?"

"Dexter never gave her the details of how to program it. He trusted it with Mandark..."

"...I guess Dexter really did see him as a trustworthy person in the very end..."

"Yeah... Anyway, we're not gonna get anywhere by just standing here. I need you to head down to Candy Cove next."

"Wait. What about the paste?"

Numbuh 2 gave him an extremely confused look. He picked up a large bottle and held it up to Kyle. "I have it right here. Didn't you convince Eddy to send me some?"

"B-But he told me that his Fusion stole his last supply. That's why I went to Genius Grove to get it back!"

"Oh... It looks like he tricked you. Eddy must've just wanted his Fusion out of the way."

"That ass almost got me killed!"

"It's war, man."

"...Sign, alright. What did you say again? Candy Cove?"

"A KND scout reported the Candy Pirates had found a piece of tech washed up on shore. It must've been floating in the ocean ever since Tech Square was absorbed. By his description, it's an important piece that we need to finish the Time Machine."

Candy Cove was the area south of Peach Creek. The place was known to be a much-used hideout for the Candy Pirates. Like their name implied, they were pirates based with a candy theme. What made them particularly different was that they sailed the seas to hunt and steal candy and not actual treasure like gold and jewels. Where Kyle grew up, many people called them nutjobs as they didn't see the purpose or even value of stealing candy for someone's own gain. The KND, however, did with their own reasons. The two groups had been long time enemies. Some of the KND's weapon technology required candy as ammo. No ammo would leave them defenseless. The Candy Pirates' operations also lead to some stores to going out of business . . . and a lot irritable children.

"Don't worry about finding Mandark." Numbuh 2 told Kyle. "We've already got people looking for him."

Landing in the Cul-de-Sac, Kyle exited the fortress's main gates and followed the southern road. It eventually reached a dead end and turned into a nature path as it reached the town's outer limits. All that laid ahead was a dense forest. He proceeded carefully inside as there was no telling what hidden surprises awaited in the brush. After trekking through what he assumed was the entire forest, he came into a mountainous clearing. It was another edge of the world. Across the distance, Kyle could once again see the vast ominous Fusion Matter sea awaiting the embrace the earth above it. He carefully approached the nearby cliff and gazed below.

Laid at the bottom, Kyle was surprised to see a sunken pirate ship, a large galleon to be precise. It was a typical one with three masts. The sail was decorated with a vertical, red and white stripe pattern like the colors of a candy cane. The deck seemed to be well-equipped as there were still many cannons though they were all huddled together due to the ship angle, partially lying on its side. The entire vessel was submerged in Fusion Matter. The only thing that reached past the surface of the water was the ship's mast and the flag with their Jolly Roger.

Kyle turned his head towards the west and noticed two wooden watchtowers each standing in front of two small, climbable chains of mountains. The mountains paralleled each other as they encased a twisting path leading somewhere. On each of the watchtowers roofs was the same Jolly Roger. Kyle followed the pathway though he was confused to why nobody was stationed at any of the towers. It was obvious the path was used recently since the footprints left behind on it were relatively still fresh.

As Kyle continued down the mountain-bordered path, he came upon a small campout though it looked more like a village. The tents were typical, made out of either red or white fiber, though most of them weren't made to hide their contents. Treasure chests were full of what anyone would expect "pirate booty" to have although they were "candyfied" versions of them such as chocolate doubloons, candy cane swords, licorice ropes, mint gems, and hard candy jewels. What looked like the main tent was adorned with a giant skull on its roof. Implanted within its right eye was a large, round mint with a swirling red and white pattern.

The camp seemed to be abandoned except for a strange monkey which was taking a nap on a hammock. It was dressed in a similar manner to Mojo Jojo. Its skin was as green as Fusion Matter and it was covered in deep black fur. The monkey wore a purple jumpsuit with white stripes and sashes. Equipped on his back was a high-tech jetpack. He wore a white visor with red-tinted lens and a tall, white and purple-striped helmet. Kyle decided to let him sleep in peace instead of waking him up and asking for help. The monkey seemed like one who would be irritated easily.

Kyle decided to check the main hut. As he attempted lifting the opening fold, a pirate around his age stormed out, pointing a sharpened candy cane sword to Kyle's neck. He was dressed in a striped t-shirt shifting between dark and light shades of green with the sleeves torn off. He wore dark black shorts (torn as well), brown boots, and a red bandana with white polka dots wrapped tightly around his spiky black hair. He had a very irritated look on his face. This pirate wasn't one to be messed with.

"Arr! What do ye' be want'in?" he asked in a stereotypical pirate voice. "Don't 'cha know 'dis be pirate ground?"

"W-Wait!" Kyle tried to get the pirate to lower the sword, but he still pointed the sword at Kyle's neck. "I didn't mean to cause trouble! I was asked to get something from you."

The pirate's look only grew more suspicious of him. "Fine, what be this 'somethin' you be wantin'?"

"Numbuh 2 told me that you guys found some piece of technology the other day. I was wondering if we could have it?"

"...Aye. That be true. But why would I be givin' this to a Kids Next Door member?"

"If it helps, I'm not a member. I'm just working for them...like a mercenary. _Hm, kinda like the sound of that..._"

"Still, I can't be lettin' go of this contraption without somethin' in return."

"Maybe we can trade?"

The pirate pondered his thoughts for a moment before coming up with a solution he found reasonable.

"Hm...some scallywag monsters stole one of our last supply of candy. We need someone to go find it or get more."

"Alright. Easy enough. Where did they go?"

"To Pokey Oaks, matey."

"Okay, I'll be-"

"Hold up. Just wait here fer a second."

The pirate walked over to the sleeping monkey. Slashing his sword with two strokes, he severed the two ropes that held up the hammock. The monkey fell with a thud and was instantly awakened when he hit his head. He remained silent, but he was obviously not amused by what the pirate did.

"Ugh, what do you want?" the monkey asked in a deep voice.

"You'll be takin' this lad to Pokey Oaks." the pirate ordered, pointing at Kyle.

The monkey glared at Kyle, observing him. "Sure, no prob. Alright kid, grab my hand."

Kyle was hesitant, but reluctantly did so despite not knowing what he was about to do. The monkey pressed a button on his belt which starting up his jetpack. Instead of ignited fire being released from the thrusters like Kyle expected, white ring-shaped beams which grew in size as they left the jetpack slowly propelled the two into the sky. It seemed to be endowed with anti-gravity technology. Once they were at a high altitude, they headed in the westward direction. Kyle didn't have to worry about falling as the monkey's grip was surprisingly powerful. Also, a pair of energy handcuffs produced from the monkey's gauntlet was attached to Kyle's wrist. The view was much more "free" than the SCAMPER as it was only limited to what could be seen through a window. Now that he had a somewhat different perspective, Kyle could see more of what Fuse's invasion had done to the land. Towards the south, he could see remnants of collapsed mountains as well as more areas of land torn apart by fissures.

The two soon came closer to the southern part of Pokey Oaks. It didn't seem like the monkey was heading towards the mall encampment judging by the direction he was flying. Further ahead, Kyle could spot another somewhat populated area. A group of people had set up a well-equipped perimeter around a house. The building had a different structured style compared to the other houses in the town. The walls were made of pure white marble and the structure was basically three cubes in a row with the center being twice as large. The right sported a garage while the left sported a kitchen that could be seen through the large rectangular window. The center had the red front door. On the upper level of this section was a row of three large circular windows. Outlining them were neon lights that glowed green, pink, and blue respectively. Kyle easily recognized this to be the Powerpuff Girls' house. He always saw pictures of it in newspapers or televised interviews.

The monkey took Kyle down towards the house, landing in the front yard near an identical monkey. Kyle couldn't even tell the difference between the monkeys without hearing their completely different voices.

"Looks like you're new to the Monkey Skyway." the Candy Cove monkey remarked.

"Alright Robert," the other interrupted, "get back to your post. I'll take it from here."

Robert nodded as he flew back to Candy Cove without a word.

"Listen up, kid." the monkey told Kyle. "The name's Chris. It doesn't really matter knowing names since we change posts daily. As for the Monkey Skyway, it's a system of Monkey Minions spread out across the country... Well what's left of the country anyway. We don't usually go across to another town since we normally have SCAMPERs for that, but the Candy Cove encampment is technically not at a town and at a reasonable distance between the Cul-de-Sac and here. So now that I gave an example, expect this as a sort of 'rest stop' between towns. For cities, we have multiple stations in them like Townsville. Not like it's gonna be useful info, but I'm required to say that to new people."

"Thanks... Um, if you don't mind me asking, do you know anyone around here who's seen a group of monsters from Candy Cove around here?"

"Sorry, kid. Try asking Buttercup. I saw her go inside her house a while ago. She should still be inside. Don't worry about knocking though. She leaves the door unlocked if people need to see her."

Kyle thanked the monkey as he headed toward the house. He walked up to the front door and then went inside. Kyle felt bad that he went in without warning Buttercup, but he was simply following what the Skyway agent had told him. The interior of the house was nice in his opinion: blue carpet, black furniture, white wallpaper. The potted plants and portraits hanging on the walls helped make for nice scenery. The portraits were mainly those of the Powerpuff Girls and another man, Professor Utonium, the father (or "creator" like some others say) of the girls.

During early years of Kyle's life, Townsville was an epicenter of crime. Rates were high and a high quantity of the police were too cowardly to stand up to the many thugs and supervillains. Those who were actually brave still proved to be ineffectual. Citizens were usually never harmed (assuming they weren't being held hostage) so they tried living normal lives. But when threatened, they mainly listened to demands. Professor Utonium was also one of those citizens. One day after a trip to the grocery store, (which also got robbed that day by the wanted criminal known as Fuzzy Lumpkins) he accidentally created the superpowered trio everyone now knows as the Powerpuff Girls in his laboratory. After a few days, they soon became the city's protectors, allowing the citizens to regain, or maybe actually obtain, some normality in their lives, and it's been like that ever since.

Upstairs, Kyle saw light coming from behind a pink door. He climbed the stairs and peeked through the small opening. Completely different from the rest of the house, it was the Powerpuffs' room, a pink-colored space filled with girly materials. Inside, Kyle could see Buttercup sitting on a large bed, color coordinated to represent where each girl slept. Buttercup was simply staring at what looked like one of Blossom's large hair bows. It even seemed like she was talking to it.

Kyle stepped back, pretending he didn't see anything, and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Buttercup asked.

"It's me."

"Kyle? Hold on." Buttercup quickly shoved the hair bow into the heart-shaped drawer next to her. "Alright, come in."

Once inside, Kyle sat down in a blue beanbag chair facing her.

"What're you doing here?" she asked.

"Hey, sorry if I'm bothering you, but I could use some help. That is, unless you're too busy with something else..."

"No, I'm free. What's up?"

"Some of Fuse's goons in Candy Cove stole a candy supply from the Candy Pirates and made their getaway somewhere around here. I really need to find them and bring it back so we can trade for an important part we need for the Time Machine."

"I see... Okay, I'll fly around the area and use my X-ray vision to find them. I'll call you when I do. You can stay in here while I search. Uh...don't mind the mess."

Buttercup stoop up and quickly flew out the window, leaving her signature green light trail behind. Feeling a little uncomfortable staying in the room, Kyle decided to walk around the house. He eventually found and opened the door to the basement. Walking down the stairs, he found a laboratory. It was small, but it still had the impressive, technologic look. On a bookshelf, Kyle grabbed certain book that didn't seem it would belong in a laboratory. It was a book full of nursery rhymes. There was a specific page that was bookmarked and had notes and highlights drawn all over it.

"_Sugar and spice, And all that's nice; That's what little girls are made of..._" This specific passage was highlighted, circled, and underlined many times. "So this is where he came up with the idea..."

Kyle closed the book and put it back the way he found out. As he went back up the stairs, his Nanocom began to vibrate from a call. It was Buttercup.

"Hey, Buttercup. You found them?"

"Yup. Kinda stupid for them to steal candy and run away to the candy store. Anyway, head left when go out the front door and head down the street. You'll see me outside when you get there."

"On my way."

Kyle followed Buttercup's directions and hurried to the candy store. After crossing five blocks, Kyle s[otted Buttercup waving to him. It seemed she had already taken care of all the monsters she came across judging from the small drips of Fusion Matter on her clothes and the slimy, wooden remains on the ground.

"That was quick." Kyle remarked.

"It was only a few of them. Sorry I didn't save a piece of the action. But it looks like the stolen candy was tainted." Buttercup held a few oversized jawbreakers in her hand. There were discolored and brittle as she easily crushed them without using her superpowers. "You should just get a fresh batch. Don't worry. This place has been closed ever since monsters started running all over the place."

"Thanks. I might've taken forever to find these guys."

"No big. By the way, when you get back to the past, can you tell-..." She was hesitant to finish the request.

"Tell who?"


	11. Live

**Chapter 11 – Live**

**Author Notes:**

- the title is "live" as in "you'll live." (It becomes obvious in this chapter), not "live" as in "live show".

- by the way, the last portion of dialogue is not a yaoi moment. (If anyone's going to think that) Kyle's just extremely happy that friend of his didn't die since another friend dying would just remind him about Dan

* * *

><p><em>Battle of Tech Square<em>

Buttercup was joined by Blossom once the SCAMPER she was escorting landed on the ground. She could see her sister, Bubbles, and Kyle along with some other KND agents running inside to Infected Zone towards the reactor.

"Kick some Fusion ass for me, guys!" she exclaimed with enthusiasm.

They couldn't hear her due to her altitude and the Infected Zone barriers, but they all knew Buttercup and many others were counting on them.

"Buttercup!" Blossom exclaimed. "Pay attention! We have Tech Wings coming!"

"C'mon! That's no big deal! I'm on it!"

"Do I have to remind you about-"

Buttercup flew off before Blossom could finish her sentence. The green Powerpuff Girl was always the fastest out of the three. As Buttercup came closer to the Tech Wing flock, she held her arms towards them and began to spin them rapidly, her right clockwise and her left counterclockwise. In seconds, her arms produced large, green tornadoes with their tails still attached to the end of her hands. A majority of the flock was sucked inside where they thrown around in a circular motion endlessly. Buttercup then clapped her hands to combine the two tornadoes into one, giant twister. Any Tech Wing who hadn't crashed into another and exploded upon impact continued to be chaotically spun until they finally did. Buttercup finally sent the twister on its own, towards an area unoccupied by ally forces which only just sucked up more of Fuse's monster. She was always known as the powerhouse of the trio so this kind of power and destruction was expected from her.

Blossom, being the smarter one, preferred to take advantages of enemy weaknesses. She mainly used her laser vision to clip the flock's wings and render them flightless. They would either die upon hitting the ground or get killed by the many KND agents below fighting many Fusion Spawns. If any monster got close enough to her, she resorted to the usual physical beatdown.

As Buttercup was clearing the last remnants of the Tech Wing flock, Blossom's phone had begun ringing. The screen displayed Dexter's name as the caller.

"D-Dexter?"

She hesitantly replied with suspicion. Blossom knew Dexter had been kidnapped. He must've at least still had a communicator with him.

"Hello?"

"Blossom." Dexter answered. "Listen, I'm not going to make it. Even if I'm freed from this jail cell, there won't be enough time for what I need to do. Please don't tell anybody, not even your sisters. It will only result in unneeded deaths."

"But-But why are you telling me this?"

"Heh. I guess I just wanted to tell. But there is something else that you must know. I can't reveal my sources, but make sure Buttercup gets out of here alive at all costs. You understand?"

"Y-Yes, but why Buttercup? Is there some secret or something special that she's hiding?"

"Like I said before, I can't say. Just do it. I have to go now. The Fusion is going come in soon once she's done using the intercom and I don't think my communicator can resist this cage's interference any longer. Goodbye . . ."

Dexter's last words were followed by static before the call finally disconnected. Blossom remained silent and put her phone away in her pocket. She landed on the ground and began helping Buttercup and the KND agents defeat the remaining Fusion forces.

"Blossom!" a voice exclaimed.

Blossom turned to see Bubbles flying towards her with a group of KND members following her. She stop to talk to Blossom while the rest joined the battle.

"Bubbles! What are you doing here! Where's Kyle!"

"I'm sorry, Blossom, but Fusion Buttercup knew we were coming. She demanded that only Kyle would go inside. If we didn't follow, something probably would've happened to Dexter."

"What about Kyle? Fusion Buttercup's Cyberus could get to him!"

"We took care of them, but I sealed the door with our heat vision in case more showed up."

"Well, the doors are heavily sturdy. Sealing them like that should buy more than enough time."

"Hey, ladies." Buttercup interrupted as she punched a hole into a Cyberus' core. "We could really use some help here!"

Bubbles nodded, but was stopped by Blossom when she tried to leave.

"Whatever happens," Blossom told her, "don't let Buttercup die."

Being sisters, Bubbles knew what Blossom meant. She and Blossom flew inside the crowd to join the others. The trio mainly stuck together, breaking formation when it was called for. Each of them used their signature moves, Blossom with ice breath, Bubbles with her supersonic screams, and Buttercup with her static lightning. This strategy worked until a fireball was suddenly fired at them. The girls looked to see Fusion Ben a safe distance away. It was obvious to tell by how Fusion Ben's Ultamatrix symbol looked like Fusion Matter was running through it, indicated by the visible air bubbles flowing downwards.

The Fusion was already transformed into a darker version of one of Ben's aliens. He took the shape of a humanoid plant-like being. He had a Fusion Matter body with green roots wrapped around it. Dark red petals pointing upwards grew on his head with a large, dark yellow one growing from the center. The formation of how the petals grew looked like a flame. This transformation was nicknamed Swampfire, an alien who could command both plants and fire.

"Nice to see you three here." the Fusion said with a stuffy voice due to the transformation.

"I thought Ben would be dealing with you." Blossom told him.

"He's . . . going to be occupied pretty soon. What matters now is the destruction of Tech Square!"

"Quit talking with him and start beating him!" Buttercup exclaimed as she flew past the other two girls.

Fusion Ben simply sidestepped out of the way and let Buttercup crashed into the elevated piece land that was behind him. Fusion Ben wasn't one to be taken down easily. Everyone knew he was one of the main leaders in Fuse's army. That kind of position automatically marked him as extremely dangerous.

"Let's go, Bubbles!" Blossom commanded.

The two charged at the Fusion. He responded by hurling two fireballs at them. They dodged, but the after throwing the fireballs, Fusion Ben placed his hands on the ground. The concrete below the girls broke apart as large vines grabbed hold of them in a tangled mess. The Fusion then severed the root and grabbed the base of the vines. He chucked the vines with the girls still inside towards the open area to his left. As he smiled in delight, Buttercup suddenly kicked his head off which soon disintegrated. The body still stood, unfazed by Buttercup's surprised attack. Small roots then started to appear and quickly regenerated a new head in its place.

"Always as rash as ever." Fusion Ben remarked. "You should already know you can't kill me while I'm in this form. I'll always grow back."

Buttercup flew off over to her sisters and helped them untangled the vines. Fusion Ben appeared behind, grabbing her shirt collar, and tossing her behind him. She landed in a bed of vines that the Fusion made which instantly restrained her and covered her mouth, preventing her from speaking. Fusion Ben walked towards Buttercup, producing a burning fire in the palm of his hand. He was preparing to incinerate the girl.

"Stop!"

Bubbles kicked the Fusion on his side causing him to fly towards Blossom. Blossom then proceeded to follow it up by kicking the Fusion's chest while backflipping which sent him over her and made him land near the edge of a cliff, an edge of the world. Despite being unable to be killed in this form, Fusion Ben could still feel pain.

"Blossom!" Bubbles exclaimed. "These vines holding Buttercup can't be cut for some reason!"

Fusion Ben laughed as he stood up again.

"Hahaha!" It's a little special thing that Fuse modified with my alien forms. You can't break those vines unless I do it myself or if you defeat me."

The ground underneath them began shaking. Some even began to break apart. It was an earthquake. Buttercup tried to break free, but it was no use. She was just wasting her strength.

"Oh, and you better do that fast." Fusion Ben continued. "Tech Square is being sinking as you know it."

"B-Blossom!" Bubbles exclaimed. "How can we beat him that fast if he's taking Swampfire's form! Blossom?"

"Protect Buttercup at all costs." Dexter's voice said in Blossom mind.

She came to realization and solution. The look on her face obviously meant she didn't like it, but it was the only way she could think of to free Buttercup.

"Bubbles . . . we'll grabbed him and pulled him to the bottom of the sea, the deepest we can go it doesn't matter."

"B-Blossom. You don't mean-."

"We have to. The water pressure will eventually kill him if we go deep enough. It's what Dexter ordered . . . It's for the sake of the world!"

"What are you girls talking about?" the Fusion asked. "If you don't something, your sister's gonna be in _deep_ trouble. I mean, I would love to-"

Bubbles flew at him in an incredible speed, grabbed his waist and pushed him off the cliff, still holding on.

"I'm sorry, Buttercup." Blossom said with her back turned towards the restrained girl. "Please. As a last request, don't go after us when you're free. You're still needed in this war. I guess this is goodbye . . . I love you . . ."

Buttercup was pulling against her restraints with all her might, desperate to stop her sisters. All one could hear was the muffled and unintelligible language coming from her covered mouth. It was the first time Blossom had seen her cry this much. She flew off to join Bubbles and grabbed a hold of Fusion Ben. She used all of her remaining energy to encase the three in one block of ice, cold enough to reach absolute zero. The ice hit the Fusion Matter ocean with a large splash as it quickly dove to the ocean floor.

"You have to live . . . Buttercup . . ."

Back on the surface, the vines lost their extremely strong hold on Buttercup as the Fusion Matter water levels reached a few inches beneath her. A flew up as gazed at the bubbles left behind the ice block. Her eyes were flowing with tears at the loss of her sisters. She clenched her fists in anger, anger that she wasn't strong enough to save them, anger that she always blindly rushed in the face of danger without thinking of the possibilities.

"Damn it!"

* * *

><p>"Buttercup?" Kyle asked. "What were you saying? Tell what to who?"<p>

Buttercup regained her senses as she awoke from her dazed state. She was a little panicked at how long she was like that.

"Oh, sorry. I was thinking about something and I tend to lose myself when that happens. How long was I acting like that?"

"Like ten seconds."

"Felt a lot longer than that . . ." Buttercup said to herself. "Oh, never mind what I said. I have to get back. The others might need me. Say hi to Numbuh 2 for me."

Buttercup flew back to the in a hurry. Kyle wondered what caused her to space out, but he decided to leave to issue as it was. He went inside the candy store and started to stock up on candy. The place was in a wreck. Traces of Fusion Matter were left in a couple containers. Kyle tried to find containers that uncontaminated and still fresh. There weren't that many, but he luckily found unopened storage boxes in the backroom. There was than enough needed, so Kyle stored them in his Nanocom. He headed back to the encampment and asked the Monkey Skyway agent to take him back to Candy Cove.

As he landed, Kyle saw the pirate from before patiently sitting by the tent. He was staring intently at a burning campfire. He noticed Kyle when he heard the Skyway agent's thrusters.

"Hey." Kyle greeted him. "I'm sorry, but your candy got lost. I did manage to replace it with the candy at the candy store though if it makes up for it."

"It be perfectly fine." the pirate responded gratefully. "Thank you me bucko. I recall you wanted this trinket? Take it."

He opened a nearby treasure chest and handed Kyle a strange glowing device from it.

"Thanks a lot, um . . . "

"Captain Brock Candy of the Candy Pirates." the pirate informed him.

"You're the captain?"

Kyle knew who the real captain was, by appearance and by name. He just wanted to find out why a boy of this age is calling himself captain.

"Aye, me matey. At least . . . I am now."

"Now?"

"Aye, our former captain was sent to Davy Jones' Locker. I took over after then."

"I'm sorry . . . were you close?"

"Hm? I guess ye could be sayin' that. We never spoke that much, but listened to every order he gave. What be causin' ye to ask a question like that?"

"Oh . . . I was just curious. By the way, where are the other members of your crew?"

"They be salvaging the coastline what we can use for the battle for that scoundrel Fuse. It be how we found the trinket you hold in yer hands."

"I see . . . Well, good luck. There's no telling what Fuse will plan ne-"

An earthquake resonated throughout the entire area. It wasn't powerful enough to knock someone off his feet so the origin was somewhere farther away.

"What the?" Kyle wondered aloud. "An earthquake?"

"I have no idea." Brock replied.

He suddenly pointed of in the northwest direction. In the distance, over the mountains, one could make out smoke coming from somewhere. It was small from where Kyle and Captain Brcok were, but taking distance and perspective into account, one could tell it was a massive amount.

"What be that over there?" Captain Brock asked. "Smoke? Be it a town on fire? What could be producin' all that smoke?"

"The treehouse!" Kyle thought. "Hey, Brock. I need to get over there to Sector V ASAP."

"Robert! Take the lad back to Cul-de-Sac! This be a top priority order!"

Robert quickly awoke from his nap, grabbed Kyle's arm, and flew off north without any questions. They two reached Cul-de-Sac in record time. Kyle quickly gave his thanks and he rushed to Cul-de-Sac's SCAMPER as fast as he could. He reached it just in time as the pilot was about to leave. He too was curious about what just occurred in Sector V. Within a short period of time, the SCAMPER landed in a nearby street due to a terrible sight.

The platform that held up the treehouse has plummeted to the ground. Fire was raging from the smashed anti-gravity plates. A large portion of the treehouse was on fire as well. KND agents were doing their best to douse them out. Some broken rubble was scattered around the treehouse due to the force of the impact. A few wooden bridges had been set up to reach the platform due to the large gap.

Kyle quickly exited the SCAMPER and ran to the treehouse only to be stopped by two agents guarding the bridge. They demanded that Kyle stay away and wait at the emergency medical station they set up in Hero Square. Kyle desperately wanted to get inside. Not because of the Time Machine possibly getting damaged. He didn't care about that right now. He was worried about Numbuh 2.

"What about Numbuh 2!" Kyle exclaimed. "Is he alright!"

"Everyone in the treehouse has been evacuated and rescued." one of the guards calmly replied. "As we said, go to the emergency medical station. He should be there."

Kyle ran as fast as he could to Hero Square. Many red and white medical tents were set up to treat injured agents and civilians. Doctors and nurses or various ages were scrambling to treat the many patients. Computress, who was nearby, detected Kyle's presence and approached him.

"Greetings, Kyle. I assumed you are here to see Numbuh 2? Follow me."

Computress let Kyle inside a tent near the monument. Numbuh 2 was lying on the bed, bandaged up. He didn't seem to be fatally wounded, but Kyle was positive he sustained some serious injuries. Numbuh 2 was still holding on to the little bit of consciousness he still had. It didn't help he was coughing heavily from inhaling plenty of dust and smoke.

"Kyle?" Numbuh 2 asked. "Thanks for coming."

"It's what friends do, isn't it?"

"Hehe . . . It's gonna take a lot more than that to kill me."

"I'm just glad you're okay. _I don't want a repeat . . . Not again . . ._"

"He-Hey. Are you crying?"

Kyle hadn't even noticed. He quickly wiped the tear from his face.

"Oh, um . . . this just reminds of something . . ."

"Hehe. Whatever you say."

"What happened?"

"Ugh . . . some Fusion Spawns raided the treehouse's power generator room and stole the Gravity Decelerator, the main component that keeps the platform afloat . . ."

Numbuh 2 immediately fainted as he tried to continue.

"Numbuh 2!"

"Don't worry." Computress told Kyle. "He has merely fallen asleep. You should let him rest. You're welcome to use one of the empty tents to rest tonight until the treehouse is safe again."


	12. Purpose

**Chapter 12 – Purpose**

**Author Notes: **

**- **Eh, I think the ending dialogue is a little cheesy, clichéd, and not really that good, but oh well

* * *

><p>Numbuh 2 laid in bed as Kyle sat next to him, waiting for him to awaken. Kyle had been there since morning. He was used to sitting around and doing nothing for long periods of time so it didn't bothered. It was almost noon as Numbuh 2 began to stir.<p>

"How long have I been out?" Numbuh 2 moaned.

"Not long." Kyle responded. "It's almost noon. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Stop worrying. I told you already, I'm fine."

"So what are we going to do about this?"

"I don't know. It would be wasting time fixing the platform. But I do know we need to find that Gravity Decelerator. Who knows what Fuse is planning with it?"

"Okay, I'll go-"

"No. We need to focus on the time machine. Wait. How's the time machine?"

"I checked it out. IT looks okay. It's a miracle nothing fell on it. Just a few things burned here and there."

"Nothing I can't fix though with my body like this, finishing the thing will take longer unless we find Mandark already. As for the Gravity Decelerator, I'll send KND squads to search for it. And you got the part from the Candy Pirates?"

"I left it back at your lab along with the other stuff that wasn't damaged or destroyed."

"Great. Now we only need two more things."

"So where next?"

"You're going to meet with a fellow time traveler like you, Samurai Jack."

Hearing the word "samurai" made Kyle think back to when he was on Dexter giant airship.

"Wait, you mean that guy onboard Dexter's ship back in Tech Square?"

"That's him. He's from the ancient past of samurais, dragons, and stuff like that."

"Where is he?"

"You'll find him in Goat's Junk Yard, southeast of the Cul-de-Sac. I already contacted him to expect you, but I didn't say what day exactly. He hangs out a lot there anyway so it shouldn't be a problem. Jack'll give you the details when you arrive."

"I'm on it. Oh, and try to not push yourself."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Kyle left and took a SCAMPER to Peach Creek. He walked southeast outside the town and followed a large sign pointing to Goat's Junk Yard. There wasn't much to see and wander through. Almost the entire area was inside Infected Zone borders. In the only spot unaffected was the small entrance-like portion of the junkyard. The smell of the place was revolting due to the place being converted to partially be a waste management plant, but Kyle knew he just had to deal with it. Kyle passed through the entry gate and spotted the samurai sitting atop one of the scrap piles, arms crossed and eyes closed, obviously meditating. True to the fact he came from the ancient past, the style of his clothes went with it. He wore a white kimono with gray linings and brown sandals. He wore his long, black hair in a bun and a sheathed sword on the left side of his waist.

"Jack?" Kyle asked as he approached.

Jack opened one of his eyes and observed Kyle closely.

"And you are?" he asked.

"Kyle. Numbuh 2 sent me for something."

"Ah yes, the Time Vortex."

"What's that?"

"It's what the name implies, a vortex through time."

"So where is it?"

"That's the obstacle. I hid it a long time ago to protect it from evil purposes. I placed it in Candy Cove. But to actually retrieve the Time Vortex, you must activate the three Temporal Points in a certain time limit to actually reveal the vortex even if you do happen to find the location."

"Sounds easy enough. But how am I supposed to actually pick up a vortex? Wouldn't I just get sucked through when get close to things like those or something?"

"Possibly, but this will counteract that problem."

Jack handed Kyle a strange item. It was simply a grey rock, but it had weird markings drawn on it.

"What is this thing?"

"It's a mystical vessel that will allow you to store the Time Vortex."

". . . Why haven't you used it then? I mean you could try to stop this Fuse-wrecked world from happening . . ."

"There are problems with that possibility. One is that the Time Vortex is very unstable and unpredictable without proper calculations. I could be sent to the beginning or end of time if I just use it now. Another is that this Time Vortex can only be used once. You have to be absolutely sure if your want to use it. The third reason I haven't used it is a little personal, but I will tell you that I still have unfinished business in this time period. You best be going now. I sent the Temporal Point locations to your Nanocom. There should be three markers on your map that will show the location of each. You must start at the east most Temporal Point. You can contact me if you need some help."

"Right."

Kyle headed back to Candy Cove, going through the western forest. The first Temporal Point, according to the marker, was located somewhere ahead of him. As he got closer, Kyle called Jack.

"Jack. What exactly does this 'Temporal Point' look like?"

"They are gray totem-like structures. You should be able to spot them easily. They look out of the ordinary for a place like Candy Cove."

". . . I think I found the first one."

Kyle came across the structure Jack described in a small clearing completely surround by the forest. It was spiked like a spire and had inscriptions similar to the rock Jack had given Kyle, only these inscriptions glowed with a bright light. Kyle went up to touch the structure. As soon as he did, the glow dimmed and the Temporal Point began to slowly fade into thin air and disappear completely. Kyle contacted Jack again thinking something went wrong.

"Jack. Are these Temporal Points supposed to disappear into thin air?"

"Yes. You have activated the countdown. You must get to the second marker in less than three minutes or else you'll have to start over. The second Temporal Point will appear there at the cliff overlooking one of the coves to the sea. There should be a sunken pirate ship below it."

"I know the one. I'm hurrying."

Kyle quickly studied his Nanocom's map and ran back to where he first saw the sunken pirate ship. He found the second Temporal Point next to a tree growing at the farthest edge of the cliff. Kyle touched it, causing it to fade into nothingness like the first one. He checked his Nanocom's map one final time. The last Temporal Point was just in front of the Candy Pirates' encampment. Kyle ran down the mountain-bordered path again and soon saw the final Temporal Point ahead. He touched it.

Unlike the other two, this Temporal Point began shaking and suddenly turned into three balls of glittering light which rose into the air. They began to spin around in a clockwise motion and fly toward the Candy Pirate campsite. They entered Captain Brock's hut's skull. After a few seconds, it began to shake violently and in a flash of light, reveal a spinning vortex in the unoccupied. Sparks or electricity flowed out of it, just like the one Kyle saw that night in Genius Grove. The encampment was still empty like before aside from Captain Brock who came outside to see what was happening when he felt and heard something shaking above him in the hut.

"Kyle. What is this?"

"The Time Vortex." Kyle replied. "Sorry. I didn't know it was hidden here. Where you get the skull from?"

"Me mateys found the skull while looking for buried treasure. We thought it would look nice as a decoration so we brought it back here."

"Well, it looks like it's where Jack hid the Time Vortex. Do you mind if I take that thing?"

"It be yours. We have no use for it anyway."

Kyle used the vessel Jack had given him before. He held it up and it began to glow. The Time Vortex disassembled into three streams of light and flowed into the vessel, thus storing it. The vessel continued glowing to signify that I contained something. Kyle headed back to the junkyard to inform Jack of success.

"Hey Jack," Kyle said as he ran through the gate, "I brought the Time Vortex."

Kyle held up the vessel to show him. Jack was silent for a moment. He was staring strangely at the vessel.

"Something wrong, Jack?"

"Uh, nothing. I apologize for my rudeness. Excellent work, Kyle. By the way, Kyle, do you happen to have a sword with you?"

"Y-Yeah. Why?"

Kyle withdrew his technologic sword from his Nanocom's storage banks and held it towards Jack.

"But I don't use it much . . . Actually, I haven't used it since I first arrived in Sector V."

Jack bent over and continued to study Kyle and his sword further. He had a suspicious look in his eyes that bothered Kyle.

"Spar swords with me." Jack demanded.

"W-What!"

"Draw your blade and come at me. I wish to see how you handle it."

"B-But . . . I don't even use it . . . and I don't plan to!"

"Just do it. I'm not expecting you to defeat me."

Jack jumped back a great distance. His leg power must have been incredible to be able to jump back that far. He unsheathed his sword and ran towards Kyle, holding the blade in his right hand. Kyle stood there, panicking as he gripped his sword's handle with two hands. He was paralyzed with fear that he was holding a sword towards another human being. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't stop thinking of the incident.

As Jack swung his sword at him, Kyle's arms moved by themselves and blocked it; this movement seemed completely by instinct. Kyle legs had even taken the appropriate stance. Jack was surprised. He continued swinging his blade at Kyle and every strike was blocked each time. Kyle was baffled at how he was doing this. He wasn't even trying to move his arms or legs. By the time Jack stopped attacking, Kyle regained control of his body. His hands were trembling as he dropped the sword on the ground and fell back.

"H-H-How did I-!"

"I never thought I would see something like this." Jack said aloud. "Kyle, have you ever had an encounter with a demon? Any creature of darkness, perhaps?"

Kyle came to a realization of what Jack meant. He was nervous to talk about it now that it he knew it had a connection to what just happened. He took a deep breath to help himself calm down.

"W-Well, there was something when I was ten-years-old . . ."

Kyle told Jack everything about the incident. He was scared of what he would learn from this, but he was also curious, curious of what could be lying dormant inside him. Jack retained the same calm expression throughout Kyle's retellings, unfazed by everything. Kyle only assumed he was just doing this to not worry or frighten him, but he could tell he was listening to every detail.

". . . And that's it." Kyle said.

". . . I've traveled all over the world," Jack told him, "but I have never heard of something like this . . . An underground altar in Townsville . . . And by how you described that statue . . . Could it be?"

"What is it? This- . . . This thing?"

". . . I'm afraid I don't know. I would ask you to take me there so I can investigate, but now that the place is destroyed . . ."

"I see your point . . ."

"But I can unfortunately tell you this. It is likely that when the demon possessed you, he left behind a part of himself inside you. He must've been a great swordsman when he took on a physical form. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to block my attacks."

"H-How can I get rid of it?"

"It's been inside you for six years. That's more than enough for it to gain an extremely strong bond to you. I'm just surprised that it hasn't taken full control of you yet, let alone not even partially. Were there any times that you didn't feel like yourself?"

"No. Not that I know of."

"Well, whatever it is, you're lucky . . . Now that I think about it, I may have unknowingly provoked it. I'm sorry, but assuming this demon is a swordsman, he may gain more power with every fight that includes your sword."

". . . If it's too late to get rid of it, then I at least want to know how to stop it from taking control. I don't want to live knowing the monster that killed one of my best friends and could possibly do it again can come back."

"I may know of a solution, but you must be willing to do it."

". . . I'll try anything."

Jack went inside a nearby trailer for a few minutes. He came back out holding a sword wrapped in a tan cloth with a small, yellow rope holding it together. Jack slowly undid the knots to reveal a shining blade. It was medium-sized, perfect for Kyle's usage.

"This blade will suppress some of the demon's influence whenever you use it. From what I've seen, you have no experience with a sword. You must train yourself and learn to control it. If you want to control, then you also need strong willpower for when the demon attempts to take control. You may not be able to get rid of it, but it is possible to control it, harness its power and never fear losing yourself."

"Is this the only way?"

Jack unsheathed his sword, stepped back, and pointed it at Kyle. Kyle put his rifle in the storage banks and nervously equipped the sheath to his left.

"The only one I know of." Jack said. "I will teach you the basics of the style I've learned, but perhaps you can evolve it into one of your own invention. This can also be your first step. I'm not going to injure you, but be warned that I'm not going to hold back."

With those words, Jack charged at Kyle. Many times, Jack had to stop himself before he could cut Kyle's skin. All Kyle did was stay on a defensive. He didn't even attempt to strike back. As Jack continued for the new few hours, Kyle progressively began to block and push the samurai back more often, but he still stayed back.

"Why are not trying to strike me?" Jack asked.

"I-I just can't. Holding these things up to another human being . . . It just keeps reminding me of . . ."

". . . I understand."

"I'm sorry . . ."

". . . 'I'll try anything' "

"Huh?"

" 'I'll try anything'. That's what you said, isn't it?"

"Y-Yeah . . ."

"If you truly did mean and felt those words, then you must be able to conquer this fear."

"I don't know if I can . . ."

". . . Then if you're not willing to finish off an enemy, then at least learn how to disable them or strike non-fatal points. I'm sure you don't have any problems with that?"

"I guess not . . ."

"Good. Prepare yourself."

Kyle kept those words in his mind. His body still trembled a little, but he now felt the confidence to finally strike back. Jack showed him where to attack when facing an opponent. He even taught Kyle of usual weaknesses for specifics types of Fusion monsters. Jack continued this training session until late past nightfall. Part of this purpose was to also show Kyle how to handle combat during the darkness of night. Kyle improved, but he was still unwilling to deal a finishing blow.

As the two stood across from each other, both panting from exhaustion, Numbuh 2 called Jack's Nanocom. Jack sheathed his sword and told Kyle to do the same as he answered.

"Jack? Did Kyle ever get there? I've been trying to call him. It's already nighttime."

"I'm sorry about that." Jack replied. "Yes, he's with me. I was just showing him how to fight more effectively. I thought it would've been beneficial."

"That's a relief, as long as he didn't get attacked or anything. Do you mind letting him stay with you for tonight."

"It's no trouble. He looks too exhausted to go anywhere."

Jack looked towards Kyle. The boy was lying on the ground, holding his sword in front of him and staring at it as well as the starry sky behind it.

"I have a spare bed in the trailer." Jack told him. "You must rest."

"Here? In a place this unprotected?"

"Don't worry about that. Not many Fusion monsters wander around here anymore."

"I . . . I have to thank you."

"For the training? I have no problem doing that. You don't have to-"

"No. About telling me about this thing inside of me and the other things you said. I know it's depressing to learn about it, but now that I know of its existence, I can work towards finding a way to get rid of it. You sort of gave my life purpose again. I always wanted to die, but I was too scared to do it myself. I've made new friends along the way and realized that it would do nothing but depress them and deepen the wounds in their hearts. I don't want to hurt them either, but I also don't want to separate myself from them anymore."

"One of the teachings I have learned in my lifetime is that every life has meaning."

"Kind of like something a person I know said to me . . ."


	13. Get Ed

**Chapter 13 – Get Ed**

* * *

><p>It was another sleep-deprived night for Kyle. He continually thought about what Jack had told him. He lied on a surprisingly comfy mattress, but couldn't fall asleep for a while. He was wearing Jack's spare kimono to use as pajamas since Jack offered to clean his only outfit as it was dirty enough already. By the time Kyle awoke, his clothes were neatly laid out for him at the foot of his bed. He looked over to Jack's bed to see it completely untouched. Kyle knew Jack voluntarily went outside to be a night watch, but he expected the samurai to at least get some sleep.<p>

After changing and placing the kimono on Jack's bed, he went outside. He saw Jack still awake, sitting on the hood of a rusted car atop a junk pile and staring out into the rising sun in the horizon. Jack looked towards once he heard the creaking of the trailer door.

"Kyle." he said. "I had been thinking overnight and I wish to test what I taught you."

"What is it?"

"North of here is an abandoned housing development, Peach Creek Estates Workers left due to a portion of it becoming an Infected Zone. Recently, the savage Fusion of Eduardo took up residence inside. I know the words 'savage' and 'Eduardo' don't go together, but remember that a Fusion's personality is always twisted compared the original. The reason Fusion Eduardo's so dangerous is because he loses control of himself when he's fighting someone. That's why people refer to him as a savage. He could go berserk at any moment and destroy anything in his path. You'll attempt to disable him while I'll wait to deal the finishing blow."

"I'll try."

"Good. Now follow me."

Kyle followed Jack along the northbound road. He equipped his sword to his side once again. Kyle, to an extent, personally wanted to use his rifle, but he knew he had to do this. As the Infected Zone's barriers came in sight, someone up ahead was seen running towards them, shouting about something. Kyle recognized him immediately. It was the boy he and Numbuh 2 were looking for, Mandark.

Mandark was a boy of tall height. He wore a white shirt with a brown, striped tie, blue shorts with overall straps, and brown shoes. He had bowl cut with part of his hair cut off forming an "M". Wrapped around his neck was a long cape, black on the outside and red on the inside, his company's colors. Mandark stared angrily at Kyle through his glasses. The fact the lenses were shaped like semi-circles only further emphasize his angry expression

"How dare you blow up my lab!" he exclaimed.

"Oh . . . you found out about that." Kyle responded awkwardly.

"You honestly didn't expect me to find out! My Mandroids reported that you blew it up!"

"Hey! It wasn't entirely my fault. I mean me and Dee Dee-"

Mandark's eyes lit up and he began speaking at a rate Kyle couldn't keep up with.

"Wait! You said Dee Dee? How is she? Did she anything about me? Oh my God she must be worried about me. She might be thinking I was in there and that her true love is dead and-"

"Mandark!"

"Uh . . . sorry about that." Mandark said as he adjusted his glasses. "I'm assuming she's still okay right?"

"Yes . . . "

"Excellent. In that case, as long as she's okay, I won't disintegrate you with this vaporizer like I originally planned, but I do expect that you could help me with a task when I need you to."

"And then you'll go see Numbuh 2 and help finish the Time Machine? He can't do it without you."

"Hm? Are you the guy Dexter wanted to send back?"

"Yes. Where have you been all this time?"

"I've been doing research while I waited for Numbuh 2 to finish his part before I headed over there. Well, he's hurt. It'll take a lot longer to finish without you."

"Oh, right. The Sector V treehouse's Gravity Decelerator was stolen."

"Mandark." Jack said. "I humbly suggest that you over there at once. Time is extremely precious during these dark times."

". . . Heh, you always know the right things to say, Jack. I'll head over there right. Fare'thewell. By the way, I assume you're looking for Fusion Eduardo? Well, I just saw the real one go into the Infected Zone on my way here. He may be going after him or something. But knowing that coward, you may have to rescue him."

"We have to follow him!" Jack exclaimed.

Jack ran off first and rushed inside the Infected Zone with Kyle following afterward. Inside were the remains of the unfinished houses. Leftover materials like wooden boards and concrete tiles were clumped together and floating around the area. Kyle tried to find Eduardo in the area, but didn't see him anywhere.

"Where is he?" Kyle wondered aloud. "I can see the whole place from here and there's no one in sight."

"They may be inside a Fusion Portal." Jack told him.

"What are those?"

"They act just like the portals to enter and exit Infected Zones. Except, unlike the portals you use. Sprouting from these portals are slimy, green tentacles. All you have to do is touch them to be transported into an underground cavern directly below. They serve as a Fusion's home base when they are not using anything on the surface. You can find them anywhere. They don't have to be inside Infected Zones."

Jack then pointed to the center of the housing development. There was a house which sat upon a small hill. Surrounding the hill was a pool of Fusion Matter acting like a moat. In the house's backyard was the Fusion Portal glowing brightly.

"How can we get to it?" Kyle asked. "The slope's too steep to climb and the fencing around the hill will make it even harder."

"We'll have to climb. See that platform hovering over there? There's a zipline that will take us straight to the Fusion Portal. Do you think you can handle it?"

"I think."

Kyle and Jack made their way to higher elevations using the floating boards and solid concrete. Jack once again amazed Kyle with his superior jumping abilities. He caught Kyle when he misjudged his leap and helped him to the spots a normal man couldn't reach. When they reach the zipline, Jack jumped off first. He touched the portal and disappeared before Kyle's eyes. Kyle immediately followed after him. He was transported inside a cavern with Terrafusers and similar pod-like plants growing lining the walls. Jack was nowhere in sight. It was dead silent. He gripped his sword's handle tightly and started to wander through the lair.

After a few minutes of turning numerous corners, Kyle heard something charging through one of the passageways. It was heading in his direction. Kyle took a stance and prepared for the worst. In the farthest distance he could see in the darkness, he saw what appeared to be Fusion Eduardo coming at him. Kyle closed his eyes, relying on his hearing tell when he was close enough. Positive that he was in slashing distance, Kyle swung low, aiming for the legs. He felt the blade hit flesh and the sound of clothes tearing. The creature screamed in pain and fell over. Kyle opened his eyes and was shocked by what he saw. He had cut the real Eduardo.

"Eduardo! I'm sorry! I couldn't tell it was you! Are you okay!"

Eduardo clutched his right leg in pain. The first thing Kyle could think of was to use Jawbreaker Break on the wound. He commanded his Eddy Nano to use his ability and the wound was gone. Eduardo was still crying, but he was smiling now that it didn't hurt anymore.

"Look, Ed. I'm sorry."

"Es-Es okay."

"Ed, why are you in here?"

"Um . . . well. The meanie Fusion stole my beanie babies and I . . . I wanted to get them back so I followed him here, but this place es muy scary. I got lost and started panicking. And then you- you cut me."

"I said I'm sorry. I don't aim for spots that could kill a man. You haven't seen the Fusion or Jack here either?"

"_Señor_ Jack? No. You es the first I've seen."

"I guess we'll have to keep looking. _I wonder why he didn't wait for me . . ._ Just follow me, Ed. Warn me if you see monsters behind us."

Eduardo followed Kyle into the deeper parts of the caverns. After a few minutes, they then started to hear monstrous roaring and the clashing of a sword of a metal surface. Kyle and Eduardo hurried and followed the distant sounds to the source. It came from a sort of chamber in the cave. The shape was somewhat circular and there was a large amount of room. Gigantic terrafusers were growing on the walls. In the center was large pond filled with Fusion Matter-infected water. It seemed this placed were once an underground spring and Fusion Eduardo and Jack were now clashing near it.

"Jack!" Kyle exclaimed.

"Stay back, Kyle! Ugh!"

Fusion Eduardo had slammed Jack while his attention was diverted. The samurai became unconscious as he hit the hard, rock wall.

"Jack! Are you okay!"

Fusion Eduardo noticed Kyle and his counterpart and growled at them. He swiped his foot across the ground, getting ready to charge like a bull.

"You're next." he said menacingly.

"Crap!" Kyle exclaimed. "Ed do you think- . . . Ed?"

Eduardo had left Kyle's side. He was running around the chamber screaming at the top of his lungs about how the Fusion was about to eat him. Fusion Eduardo just stood there confused before finally deciding to go after him instead of Kyle.

The two large creatures ran faster than Kyle. He wouldn't be able to keep up. Having observed the situation, Kyle's Numbuh 2 Nano emerged from the Nanocom. He pulled out miniature rockets from his pocket and threw them at Kyle. Somehow, Kyle's body simply absorbed them into his skin once it made contact. His body glowed with a blue light for a few seconds and when he looked at his feet, blue sparkles came of his feet with each step.

"Fast Feet!" the Nano exclaimed.

Kyle tried running. He was moving much faster than he did before and he wasn't even trying. This was the speed boosting abilities of Nanos. Kyle was now fast to enough to keep up with the other two, even outrun them. He dashed forward to Fusion Eduardo's side and slashed the Fusion's right leg, causing to him to fall over. The real Eduardo ran out of an exit and hid behind the wall, peeking out to see the rest of the conflict.

Thinking the Fusion was disabled for now, Kyle turned to Jack. Before he could move, he was suddenly grabbed by the foot. Fusion Eduardo had already recovered. He didn't seem to care about his injury even though the Fusion Matter acting as his blood was pouring out of it.

"That's it! You're going to die right here!"

The Fusion let out a huge roar. A visible green aura began to envelop him and his red eyes glowed even brighter. He grabbed Kyle's sword from his hand and threw it towards into the pool of Fusion Matter. Fusion Eduardo then held Kyle in the air by his leg, preparing to deal a powerful blow. Kyle started panicking. He thought he would die if that attack hit him. Before the Fusion could do so, a large boulder smacked his head. He let go of Kyle as he clutched his head in pain. Kyle saw it was Eduardo, angrier than Kyle had ever seen. He looked completely different.

"Monster!" he exclaimed as he tore off a stalagmite. "Nobody hurts my friends!"

Fusion Eduardo was obviously angrier than before. He began to be surrounded by the green aura again and charged at Eduardo. Each step broke the ground beneath the Fusion and shook the entire cavern. Eduardo reacted by sending a barrage of stalagmites flying at the beast. The impact, speed, and strength of the barrage managed to knock back Fusion Eduardo. Some even pierce his body and broke his horns. The Fusion stumbled backwards and fell on the ground, mortally wounded. Eduardo was panting from all the energy he used up in his fury. Kyle was shocked at Eduardo's strength. Once he had calmed down, he ran towards Kyle and hugged him tightly.

"Oh, _señor Kyle! I was so worried about you!"_

_"Ugh! You hugging is too tight! You're choking me!"_

_"Oh, sorry."_

_Eduardo let go and placed Kyle on the ground._ Kyle ran over to check on Jack's condition. He began to stir when Kyle shook him.

"Kyle?" Jack asked. "Were you victorious?"

"Well, Ed's the one who did the work by throwing stalagmites at him. I just cut the Fusion's legs like how you taught me."

"Good. That's what I wanted to hear. Now-"

"Wait. About the sword. He grabbed it and threw in the pool of Fusion Matter."

"That's not a problem. Go get it."

"But what about the contaminated water?"

"Go see for yourself."

Kyle walked over to the Fusion Matter pool although when got there, it was now crystal clear water and he could see the sword resting at the bottom. Kyle dove inside, retrieved it, went back to Jack.

"How did-?"

"I told you that the sword would suppress that demon's power inside you. If I had met you earlier, it would've removed it. The sword has to the power to destroy material completely filled with evil intentions. Fusion Matter is universally connected to Fuse, so it qualifies. For you, it can only suppress the demon due to how long he's been with you."

"I think I understand now."

Jack looked over to Fusion Eduardo. He was now dissolving into a Fusion Matter puddle.

"Kyle. You may want to create your Nano from the Fusion's remains now."

"Alright."

Kyle proceeded to synthesize another Nano, Eduardo. The Nanocom listed his powers as "Monster Roar", "Who's There?", and "Papas Fritas". The Eduardo Nano quickly went inside the Nanocom. He didn't like the look of the cave which he found scary. It sort of amused Kyle.

Eduardo helped Jack to his feet. He offered to let the samurai ride on atop his head which Jack gladly accepted. The three exited the lair through a nearby exit portal. Once they were outside, Kyle witnessed the portal fade out of existence right before his eyes.

"Is that supposed to happen?" Kyle asked.

"Yes." Jack replied. "Fusion Portals disappear once the Fusion who created it has been eliminated."

"By the way, Jack. Where did you go? I was right behind you and you weren't there went I went inside."

"I'm afraid Fusion Eduardo somewhere expected our arrival. He rigged the portal to send the next person directly to him and that was me. You were transported to the regular entrance."

"I see. So is there anything else you need?"

"No. You should get the Time Vortex back to Numbuh 2 so you can finish the Time Machine. Don't worry about me and Eduardo. We'll go back to the Cul-de-Sac. I need to properly treat these wounds anyway."

"Um, if you don't mind, I'd prefer to walk back this time."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I want some time to myself."

"Adios señor Kyle." Eduardo told him.

"Adios."

Kyle waved goodbye to the two for now and walked along the sidewalk going west. He thought of everything that had happened to him till this point. He never thought that he would get involved in life or death battles, let alone an entire war. Kyle even started to question what drove and motivated him in the first place before meeting Jack. He wanted to say that he desired to return home and his real time period, but he felt that wasn't the case. Kyle then remembered his childhood, the little, energetic version of himself that always smiled and wanted to feel the sense and thrill adventure.

"Heh, I guess I never really changed . . ."

Kyle made it back to Sector V late in the afternoon. The sun was already ready setting as Planet Fusion came into view on the opposite horizon. Kyle would've arrived sooner, but he had stopped at certain points to rest. He entered Numbuh 2's laboratory to see the injured scientist already working on the Time Machine. Mandark had also arrived sometime earlier to help out.

"Geez, Mandark." Kyle remarked. "You couldn't have stopped him from exerting himself?"

"I did." Mandark replied. "But he was so insistent that I just let him. Less work for me anyway."

Kyle held the rock up the rock containing the Time Vortex. Mandark adjusted his glasses in order to adjust it more closely.

"Hm . . . I still have no idea how childish drawings on a rock can contain something like a vortex in time. Perhaps those technologically aliens can provide me with an answer."

That was what a normal scientist in this world was, someone who usually rejected the idea of magic and believed that it was simply a higher form of understanding that humans were incapable of. The only supposed answer lied with the higher ups.

"Say, Mandark?" Numbuh 2 asked. "Where exactly have you been all this time? I thought you would've been in your house."

"Please. That would've been the first place Fuse would look for me. I'm probably the only advanced mind left in the world. It's obvious he'd try to hunt me down so I've been constantly moving. Now I have your so called Kids Next Door protection so I'm good."

"We're always open to protect people now. Why didn't come to us in the first place?"

"I needed some . . . privacy to work on something special."

"Special what?"

"Oh, I don't think _he_ would approve if I tell you~."


	14. Time Squad

**Chapter 14 – Time Squad**

**Author Notes:**

- as much as I hate Lizzie with an extreme passion and wish she'd go die in a fire or through the most gruesome way possible (and want Numbuh1xNumbuh5 to be canon), I'll still leave the two Sector V members as really close friends

- I'll have to remove the part showing the Fusion Mama Blowfish since I ran out of important characters and the "Messages Across Time" mission adaption was redone

* * *

><p>Morning came as Kyle, Numbuh 2, Computress, and Mandark were all in the tree house's lab with the Time Machine. Computress was helping Numbuh 2 make sure the Time Vortex was applied correctly. Mandark was programming the circuit boards using the data Dexter had given him to correctly handle the time traveling process. Kyle was sitting in the back couch, reading some comic books Numbuh 2 had loaned him. He had felt that Kyle deserved a small break from the work he had given him.<p>

"You have anything else besides these Yipper Comics?" Kyle asked.

Yipper was a popular series of comic books, mainly with young and teenage males. It even had its own complex trading card game. Kyle had played it occasionally with Adam since he was an avid fan of the game. Kyle mainly read the comics as he found the jokes inside quite humorous.

"Those are from when I was ten-years-old," Numbuh 2 replied, "and still kept my comics in the treehouse. My mom made me get rid of my other ones when I became a teenager."

"Wow, Numbuh 2." Mandark said in an amused tone. "You couldn't have at least stashed them somewhere safe?"

"Shut up! I had a lot going on in my mind back then. I could've lost my memories!"

"Whatever, Hoagie."

"I thought I told you not to call me that . . . Susan."

"Augh! Shut up about that! Anyway, we still need one last piece if we want this thing to start running."

"Aw, c'mon. Just leave it for tomorrow. Kyle needs a break from the stress."

"Look who's talking . . . You guys shouldn't be soft at times like this. Numbuh 2. Of all people still alive, you should know that."

"Yeah, but-"

"Kyle. We need you to hunt someone down. If my last scans are correct, he should still be around."

"Okay," Kyle responded, "but who?"

"Well, Jack should be back there already, but that's not who you need to locate. You need to find a robot: Larry 3000 of Time Squad. He'll have important and beneficial coding to set our time destination. Without it, there'll be a possibility something will go haywire even with the data Dexter gave me."

"Time Squad?"

"A group of time travelers like you and Jack."

"Then why can't they have used their time-traveling technology to stop Fuse?"

"They have strict rules and an oath on how their time-travel is used. They are only allowed to use it to fix problems in the past."

"But the war is a problem. Why aren't they fixing it?"

"According to Time Squad, time is like a rope. It's woven at one end, ages, and gradually unravels and frays at the other. The 'rope' is history and the 'unraveling' is when people pick a different choice in their lives. That causes history to be changed and altered. The war with Fuse is part of history so they can't mess with it."

"Okay, this confusing."

"I don't get it either myself. What I just told you is what I memorized. There was, however, a group who decided to go against the rules and somehow transported their entire space station back and joined the fight. I think there were three of them. I don't remember the names of the other two and I believe they perished during the destruction of Townsville."

"Otto and Buck." Numbuh 2 corrected him.

"Whatever!"

"So where can I find Larry?" Kyle asked.

"That's the problem. We don't know. I last saw him helping us out at Tech Square. I'm not sure what happened to him."

"Maybe you should ask Numbuh 5." Numbuh 2 suggested. "She should be outside the tree house right now."

"Alright, I'll go talk to her." Kyle replied.

Kyle descended the tree house. Outside, he found Numbuh 5 leaning against the garage wall. She held a pair of dark sunglasses in her hands and was staring at them.

"Numbuh 1 . . ."

* * *

><p><em>Battle of Tech Square<em>

Numbuh 5 and Ben had left Kyle with Numbuh 2 to follow Numbuh 1's orders. Numbuh 1 was the leader of Sector V. If asked, most of the members in the Kids Next Door would agree that he was one of the best and if not, the best, member they ever had in history.

"What's so important that Numbuh 1 needed us to join Jack?" Ben asked. "I thought that guy could handle things himself."

"I don't know, but it must be big if Numbuh 1 wants us to help him."

The two came to an entrance the park that stood between Dexlabs and Mandark Industries. The steel fencing surrounding it was now bent, missing, or destroyed by Fusion Matter. Trees were missing and toppled over leaving many littered leaves on the ground. Park property like benches and fountains suffered the same fate.

"I've always used like this place." Ben commented.

"C'mon. We need to go."

The two ran inside towards the center. They to the ruined fountain court to see Jack clashing with his Fusion counterpart as well as the Fusions of Numbuh 5 and Dexter. Fusion Dexter mainly stayed back and watched the fight for his own amusement. Fusion Numbuh 5 stayed back as well, but she fired shots from his pistols occasional to get a cheap shot at Jack while he was distracted by his Fusion's movements.

"Ah, crap! Of all Fusions, those three are here!" Ben exclaimed.

Fusion Dexter noticed the two's arrival when he heard Ben's voice.

"Ah, it's you two." he said. "Not just us, Benjamin. Your counterpart is here as well. He's probably dealing with those annoying Powerpuff Girl friends of yours right this very moment."

"Why are all of you here!" Numbuh 5 questioned as she began attacking her Fusion.

"We just wanted to see the downfall of your last pathetic city." Fusion Numbuh 5 replied.

"Big . . . Chill!" Ben suddenly exclaimed.

Ben had transformed into a blue and black, humanoid, moth-like alien. He was flying using his four wings and had an Ultimtrix symbol on his chest. His body and the spots lining his arms and legs were light blue and his eyes glowed a bright green color. Ben flew at Fusion Dexter and unleashed a vapor from his mouth. Everything the vapor touched was encased in thick layers of ice. Fusion Dexter jumped back till he was a safe distance. He drew a gun and fired shots of Fusion Matter. Ben countered by making himself transparent, completely intangible. The shots merely went through his body.

"I won't be able to win like this, guys." Fusion Dexter told his allies.

"Just distract him long enough for the bomb to go off." Fusion Numbuh 5 replied as she dodged one of her counterpart's kicks.

Fusion Jack remained silent. He never spoke that much.

"Bomb!" Numbuh 5 exclaimed.

"Powerful enough to take out the entire area if you don't do something." Fusion Dexter added. "And I have the only key to access the controls."

"Ben!"

Ben nodded and flew towards Fusion Dexter again, still continuing to use his intangibility. Fusion Dexter ran away down a cobblestone path. He used rocket powered shoes to increase his speed and glide across the ground. Ben and the Fusion were both going at the same distance. No one would catch up or get away now. Ben only needed to use up his energy to fall behind or Fusion Dexter's fuel supply had to run off before he started running again. The Fusion was about to reach the park's exit when a figure appeared ahead and fired a gun. The shot caught Fusion Dexter off guard and it fatally struck him directly in the chest. As he dissolved into Fusion Matter, the figure picked up the bronze key from his remains.

"Nice job, Nigel!" Ben exclaimed as he returned to his human form.

"Ben. For the last time, I prefer being called my codename during operations."

"Yeah, yeah, Numbuh 1."

Numbuh 1 himself was bald. He preferred to keep the reason a secret so only a few people know what happened. He always dressed himself in a red turtleneck sweater, gray shorts, and specially modified brown shoes. As he grew older, he eventually started wearing small black vest over his sweater and dark green combat shorts.

"Where's Numbuh 5?" Numbuh 1 asked.

"Fighting her Fusion." Ben replied. "Jack's doing that as well. C'mon! With four versus two, we'll care of them easily!"

"No. We need to disarm that bomb. I was listening to that conversation through Numbuh 5's Nanocom."

"But we have no idea where it is."

"The fountain court. That's where Jack encountered the three. They were there for quite some time before he got so it's logical."

Ben and Numbuh 1 headed back to meet up with the other two. When they arrived, the Fusions were still battling their counterpart. Jack and his Fusion were considerably worn down, but they still continued to clash swords. Numbuh 5 and her Fusion were still actively going at it. None were willing to back down, but they were at a farther distance from the fountain which gave Ben and Numbuh 1 less distractions.

"They'll hold off those two for now." Numbuh 1 said. "Check the fountain."

Ben ran over and stared deep inside the fountain water. Lying at the bottom was a small, blinking device in a glass box. There was a small keyhole to open it.

"Found it!" Ben exclaimed. "But it's too deep for our hands to reach. Give me the key."

Numbuh 1 handed the key to Ben. Ben then proceeded to use the Ultimatrix and transform into a small alien that was half a foot who he nicknamed Grey Matter. He was now grey-skinned and had large green eyes with minus sign-like pupils. He wore a white jumpsuit with a black stripe running right down the center. The Ultimatrix symbol was also on his chest as well.

Ben took a deep breath and jumped inside holding the key with boy hands. It was dense enough to drag him to bottom. He slowly undid the lock and the glass case fell apart. He then quickly swam upward to get another gulp of air.

"I got it!" Ben exclaimed. "Do you have anything to weigh me down now?"

Numbuh 1 picked up a rock from the ground. It was heavy enough to drag Ben down and not let him get caught or stuck. Ben took in another deep breath as Numbuh 1 placed the rock in his hands. Once at the bottom again, Ben used his alien form's superior intelligence to disarm the bomb and did it with plenty of time left on the timer.

Ben climbed out and transformed back to his original self again, still dripping wet. He was just in time to see Jack finally deliver the finishing blow to his Fusion by stabbing him in the stomach. Numbuh 5 had also managed to pin her Fusion down as well. She finished her off by shooting her in the chest. She then ran over to check on Jack's condition. He was still doing relatively well. He had some cuts and bruises, but he seemed to be enduring them as he could still run if he wanted to.

"You disarmed the bomb?" Numbuh 1 asked Ben.

"Yeah. It should explode any time soo-"

A sudden and powerful tremor interrupted Ben mid-sentence. The ground below him and Numbuh 1 instantly collapsed and they started to plummet downward towards the Fusion Matter ocean below. Numbuh 1 managed to grab onto a small pipe extending towards him. Ben did the same a few feet downward.

"What's happening!" Ben exclaimed.

"This must've been their backup plan." Numbuh 1 answered.

Numbuh 5 ran over to the hole that the two were now dangling in. She could go down herself since there wasn't enough footing to get to them.

"Numbuh 1!" she exclaimed. "Why can't you use your rocket shoes!"

"They were damaged by an Oil Ogre while I made my way here!" he responded.

"I don't think I can hold on anymore!" Ben exclaimed. "My hand's too wet from the water! I'm slipping!"

"Hold on!" Numbuh 5 told him. "Um . . . Um . . ."

"Just stop . . . It's useless . . . Hey. Can you say goodbye to the others for me?"

"Ben! Just hold on for a little longer! I'll just go- . . . um . . . Wait! What about an alien that can fly!"

"The Ultimatrix needs more time to be used again. Sorry, Abigail."

Ben's hand finally slipped off the pipe and he continued to fall. He slammed his Ultimatrix with his hand and was enveloped in a green light for a second. Once it subsided, Ben was holding the Ultimatrix in his hand. With the last of his remaining strength, he tossed it upwards to Numbuh 1 who managed to catch it.

"Protect it with your lives!" Ben exclaimed right before his body was submerged in Fusion Matter.

Numbuh 1 threw the Ultimatrix to Numbuh 5. The earthquake was growing worse. He could feel the entire landmass sinking. He then heard the sound of his pipe slowly breaking apart. He removed his sunglasses and quickly tossed them to Numbuh 5 as well.

"Take them, Abby!"

"Numbuh 1!" she exclaimed. "Not you too!"

"You've been a great comrade, Abigail. Hurry! You'll end up like this if you stay there any longer!"

"B-But-"

"You're the leader of Sector V and the Kids Next Door now! I know you'll do great!"

The pipe holding Numbuh 1 broke, leaving the Fusion Matter below to embrace him. Numbuh 5 kneeled where she was, paralyzed with shock. She couldn't move after see two of her closest friends disappear before her eyes. She wanted to move, but all she could do was stare at what remained of the two, the Ultimatrix and Numbuh 1's sunglasses. The concrete below her cracked open. She would've fallen had it not been for Jack carrying her off at the last minute. He ran towards the exit as fast as he could with Numbuh 5 in his arms. A SCAMPER was waiting at the other end, originally for the four of them. The KND co-pilot was waving his arms in a frenzy from the open door to tell Jack to hurry up as they were taking off. Jack took the Ultimatrix and sunglasses from Numbuh 5 hands and threw her upwards. The co-pilot caught her by the hands and pulled her inside while Jack used his superhuman jumping abilities to get inside. He returned Ben's and Numbuh 1's belongings once she was properly seated.

"I know it's hard." he said. "But there was no possible way we could've saved them. You should at least let their legacy live on."

"This is just like Mount Blackhead . . ." Numbuh 5 said to herself.

* * *

><p>"Numbuh 5?" Kyle asked. I need to ask you something."<p>

"Oh, Kyle. Sorry about that. What do you need?"

"Mandark needs to know where Larry 3000. I need to find him."

"Ol' Larry? Um . . . well . . . The truth is he was destroyed during the beginning of the battle. I Cyberus got to him, but we managed to save his parts."

"So where are they?"

"Well, there's the problem. That scumbag, Eddy, somehow managed to get his hands them and is now trying to sell him for profit. We can't get them back because he refuses to tell us where he hid them. Maybe he'll tell you now. You did get rid of his Fusion and I also remember stopping by the Cul-de-Sac him dancing for joy because of it."

"It's worth a shot. Thanks for the info."

Kyle took a SCAMPER to the Cul-de-Sac. As he exited, he found Eduardo sitting on the lawn across the street, calmly licking a giant lollipop.

"Hey, Ed." Kyle greeted him. "Does your leg feel okay now?"

"Oh señor Kyle! Si! No need to worry! My leg is fine!"

"Alright, big guy. Just checking."

Kyle headed to the marketplace and approached Eddy's cardboard throne. He was just sitting there with a bored expression on in his face until he saw Kyle.

"You're the Kyle kid that killed my Fusion, right? Thanks a lot, man. I hated that guy. Anyway, I'm guessing you want something from me."

"Numbuh 5 told me you managed to get a hold of Larry 3000's parts."

"Larry 3000, Larry 3000 . . . oh, you mean that dumb robot? Yeah, about that . . . you're out of luck . . . well, both of us. Nobody I could find wanted to buy that piece of scrap from me so I sent him to the junkyard."

"You what? Do you know exactly where in junk yard he is?"

"Nope. Not a clue. Try that cool samurai guy. 'Jack' was his name, right? I'm sure he's seen it since I've heard he goes inside the junkyard a lot. He just went back there this morning."

Kyle headed to Goat's Junk Yard. He found Jack in the same place a he always was. It was beginning to be a little funny for Kyle.

"Do you always have sit on that car?" Kyle asked as he walked through the front gate.

"What can I do for you?" Jack responded, completely ignoring Kyle's question.

"Eddy told me you might know where Larry 3000 is. Do you think you can show me?"

"Of course. I was wondering why he was there, but I saw that he was broken so I left him. Oh, and take this air mask. You may not be able to handle the smell in there."

"I understand."

Kyle placed the air mask over his face as Jack took him inside the Infected Zone. Seeing as how it was the only junkyard left in the world, he wasn't really surprised about the amount of junk. It was enough form mountains. The two walked north from the entrance. Giant piles of old, worn out cars and broken furniture prevent them from taking a shortcut to the east side where Larry 3000 was located. On the right were two large processing factory buildings. They were in terrible condition, but Kyle could see the silhouettes of people working through the broken windows.

Jack led Kyle through a very small trailer park. Nobody seemed to live there anymore, but their belongings still littered the place. They finally came to an opening in the garbage piles where they could access the eastern side. Kyle immediately noticed the large structure up ahead and was amazed by the sight. It was a robot of gigantic proportions standing in a lake of Fusion Matter, the robot known as Megas. He was a popular story in the news at times. People usually saw the robot fighting monsters or other giant robots in large cities which would result in lots of property damage. Some even saw it casually wander the streets at times.

"Megas?" Kyle wondered aloud.

"Yes." Jack assured him. "He's a robot from the even more distant future. A long time ago, a man known as Coop found him buried in the scrap piles here. Later, he somehow managed to attach his car where the missing head was and made it serve as the robot's controls. Right now, only he knows how to control him. We could've had a bigger advantage over Fuse if Coop used him, but one of Fuse's first moves was to trap Megas in a Fusion Matter prison rendering him unusable."

"Interesting how he knew to attack him first . . ."

"Well, there's another back-story to that, but I can't explain it here. Larry 3000's head is over there."

The two walked past Megas and towards some piles of garbage next to an abandoned factory building. Jack began to search to the piles, trying to remember where he saw Larry 3000. In a few minutes, he found the head hidden behind a broken off car door and hand it to Kyle. His head dome-like as the head itself was shaped like a silo. He had two round eyes and a bendable mouth to express emotions. The mouth even had white panels to give the illusion that he had teeth.

While talking the head from Jack's hands, Kyle accidentally activated the rebooting mechanism. Larry 3000's lights, panels, and lens glowed with a light blue color.

"Oh my goodness gracious!" he exclaimed upon seeing Kyle. "Where the heck am I? And who are you?"

"My name's Kyle. I would shake your hand for a formal greeting, but I since you're a disembodied head . . ."

"What in the sam's heck are you talking abou- Oh my goodness! I'm just head! Where's the rest of my body!"

"It appears they may be somewhere else or someone else took them." Jack told him.

"Oh heavens me, I can't even feel or detect them anywhere, Jack! I guess I'll be doomed to be like this for the rest of my life . . ."

"Don't worry." Kyle assured him. "After we're done with you, I'm sure Numbuh 2 can make you a new body."

"Wait! What are you going to do to me! It's not going to be painful is it? Just so you know, I'm an intergalactic officer and if you happen to do anything serious, I'll make . . . sure you . . . get-"

Larry 3000's head deactivated. His emergency power supply had run out.

"I guess that takes care of things if he decides to argue on the way to the treehouse." Kyle remarked. "Thanks a lot, Jack."

"You're welcome, my friend."

Jack led Kyle to the exit. He went back to meditating just like he always does. Kyle immediately went back to the Numbuh 2's lab in a hurry. This would mean he could finally go home. When he arrived, the Time Machine seemed to be almost finished. Numbuh 2 and Mandark seemed to be putting the finishing touches on it.

"Hey, guys. I got his head. He needs to be recharged though."

"Don't worry about that detail. The power we'll use to power the Time Machine will reactivate him anyway. It'll take a lot of time to set our destination and stabilize it. You can just lie around here for a while."

"Wait." Mandark interrupted. "Kyle. I wish to speak with you in private."

"Uh, sure." Kyle replied. "What is it?"

Mandark led Kyle to another room in the treehouse. He had made sure that there were no security cameras to record their conversation. He even locked the door and sealed the windows to make sure nobody would come in.

"What's this about?" Kyle asked in a suspicious tone.

"Relax." Mandark replied. "There's something that I was told to pass on to you. I'm guessing you may be wondering where I had been all this time."

"Well, yeah, but I never paid that much attention to it."

"I've been collecting all the data I could recover and compiled them into four storage boxes. The boxes were specially modified to safely travel unstable vortexes in time to a certain date. My first test was in the shadow of night in Genius Grove and-"

"Wait. That was you I saw that night?"

"Ah, so you were there? If you're wondering why we didn't use that vortex and instead went for the one that Jack had hidden is because of the stability. Jack's was the least unstable one we knew of so we'd have a lot less trouble stabilizing it. As for the boxes, Genius Grove was a success so I went on to Pokey Oaks and the Cul-de-Sac and finally Hero Square when I got first got here."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Those boxes all contain messages to their recipients telling them to expect your arrival. Whoever they decided to spread this information to is up to them. They also contain other information that'll take me longer to explain, but I just needed to tell you this so there wouldn't be any confusion once you get back."

"And the guy who told you to do all of this?"

"Heh. I'll leave you to decipher that formula."

Mandark unlocked the door and went back to Numbuh 2's laboratory. Kyle followed soon afterward. As he walked under the doorway to the laboratory, Kyle felt a small breeze as Numbuh 5 dashed past him. The girl was out of breath from running. She must have been in a hurry to get back to the treehouse.

"Guys!" she exclaimed. "We've got big trouble. I'm talking a big-time catastrophe! Fuse is sending an all-out attack!"

"What's the status report?" Numbuh 2 asked.

"First, Fusion Coop has taken control of Megas and is destroying everything in sight. He still in Goat's Junkyard, but he'll be heading to Peach Creek is he's not stopped. Jack, Buttercup, and SACT agents are trying to hold him off. Second, the stolen Gravity Decelerator fell into the hands of Fusion Stickybeard. The Fusion Candy Pirates used it to recover the real Sticky's pirate ship. It's sailing in midair now."

"Is it actually flying?"

"No. Just a few feet above ground. They either haven't figured it out how to use it right or the mechanism got damaged. The real Candy Pirates are fighting back with everything they got."

"Anything else?"

"A Fusion Mama Blowfish has been spotted in the far west. It's slowly coming closer to land. We have some Plumbers holding it off. And worse is that a few Don Dooms and Bad Maxes have shown up everywhere. Anyone who's left is fighting them."

"What about you? You're our leader now."

"I'm heading to Candy Cove to help the Candy Pirates fight Fusion Sticky. I just needed to make sure you guys got the message since I was close by. The Time Machine's almost done, right?"

"Yeah, Mandark and I just need to attach the head and charge the power cores."

"Kyle. You better stay outside. We've gotten reports of monsters heading towards the treehouse so you'll probably have to hold them off and protect the Time Machine from damage. I've got every KND member here to help as well so you're not alone. You ready?"

Kyle loaded his rifle and looked at Numbuh 5 and the others with confidence.

"Ready!"


	15. Last Stand, Final Countdown Begins

**Chapter 15 – Last Stand: Final Countdown Begins**

**Author Notes:**

- I think I'm finalizing Nanos' recharge time to be one day or overnight

- I need confirmation. Did Stickybeard (Kids Next Door) have a peg leg? I didn't include one in the story since I wasn't sure

- I know using a Greek sounding name seems odd for a demon, but I kinda liked the sound of it. Trying to make him speak without contractions (He's, you're, hadn't, etc.), but I think I'll have to resort using them occasionally or else it just looks too awkward

* * *

><p>Deep underground Dexter's house, an explosion tore a large hole into Dexter's old laboratory. Fusion Dexter and his small band of monsters scurried inside and started to scour the area. They consisted of ant-like monsters known as Tech Drones and one arachnid-like monster called a Tech Queen. They were all robotic and made of Dexlab materials like the Tech Wings and Cyberus. Their names clearly inferred that they were based off bugs, but they were definitely not small. Their height reached half that of a full grown human and their size was enough to hold one down.<p>

Tech Drones climbed all over the many pieces of equipment, computers, and other devices. They used their mandibles to bit through the outer layers and into where data was stored. This was how they stole data. They used wireless transmissions to pass it onto the Tech Queen which acted as the main storage bank.

"Excellent work." Fusion Dexter said. "Find anything that will prove useful for us!"

An energy barrier suddenly formed behind the group. It was covering the hole that the Fusions just left. Their only escape route was now blocked off. One of the Tech Drone tried to break through by biting it, but it inevitably ended up electrified and destroyed.

"What the! The blueprints we obtained never specified energy barriers! Who did this!"

"Going somewhere? . . ." a voice asked him.

Dee Dee had appeared and was leaning by another doorway, tossing and catching a pair of Dexter's glasses in the air.

"Hmph, so it's you." Fusion Dexter remarked. "Guess I don't have to worry much. After all, your brother is-"

"Don't play dumb." she interrupted. "I'm not stupid. Don't think that I don't already know what happened at Tech Square. Mom, Dad, and my own brother . . . They're all gone because of you!"

In a small fit of rage, Dee Dee smashed a button against the wall. Lasers and weapons of all types appeared throughout the room. They were under the floor tiles, behind the walls, disguised as machines, pretty much everywhere. The weapons aimed at Fusion Dexter and his group. Fusion Dexter managed to maneuver and destroy the defense system, but now he was now alone. He was also clutching his stomach in pain. Even though he was revived in a new body, he still inherited some afterpain from his previous incarnation just like other Fusions.

Dee Dee, sometime during the chaos Fusion Dexter endured, had equipped a pink suit of mecha-armor. She held her arm towards Fusion Dexter and fired an energy blast at him. The Fusion responded by pulling out his copy of Dexter's wrench weapon and deflected it.

"I underestimated you." the Fusion remarked. "But don't think I'll show mercy!"

Weapons in hand, the two charged towards each other, ready to clash.

* * *

><p>Back in Sector V, Kyle was standing outside on the edge of the treehouse platform. He stayed back from the frontlines and fired his rifle from a safe distance. He sniped at the incoming hordes of Fusion Spawns advancing towards the treehouse. He didn't have to worry about them reaching their destination as they were easily killed by the KND soldiers. There was also the fact they couldn't climb so their only way to the treehouse was the small wooden bridge.<p>

After half an hour of fighting, the masses of Fusion Spawns were joined by the Cyber Stingers. KND agents manned turrets as well as launch combat-equipped SCAMPERS and began to shoot them down. The treehouse's defense system took effect when any other Stingers got inside by instantly vaporizing them. The numbers of monsters were relentless. There was no end in sight.

Inside the treehouse, Numbuh 2 and Mandark were busy at work. They worked as fast as they could, trying to synchronize Larry 3000's head to the Time Machine. Computress was managing the combat situation by setting up the formations to combat the monsters. Dexter had programmed her with an extensive database of various tactics and strategies and knowledge which ones are effective for specific situations which made her a suitable leader in case of Numbuh 5's absence.

Numbuh 2 had set up a private communications channel to speak with certain people in the battlefield. He used it to contact Kyle's Nanocom.

"Kyle? Can you hear me?"

"I'm here." Kyle responded.

Numbuh 2 could hear the numerous sounds of gunfire and explosions from the other end. It was hard to make out Kyle's voice.

"Sorry, but we'll still need more time." Numbuh 2 said. "These Time Squad guys sure know how to make stuff difficult to crack."

"The time destination is mostly set as well." Mandark added. "Just make sure you stick close to the treehouse."

"Okay, guys." Kyle replied.

The forces seemed to be evenly matched though the Kids Next Door still had control of the most ground. Kyle continued firing upon the monsters until he was pulled aside by Numbuh 108. She had recovered from the injuries Fusion Numbuh 2 had given her and joined the fight again.

"We have trouble." she said. "We have two Don Dooms heading our way. There's some Bad Maxes showing up as well, but we've got them handled. If those two Don Doom get close enough, it'll be trouble. Mandark said that you can use a sword, right?"

"You better do it, Kyle." Mandark told him from the speakers.

Kyle ran across the bridge and towards the large creatures up ahead, the Don Dooms. They towered above the hourses, almost four times the size of them. They had four legs and a pair of pincers, all of them colored orange, like a mantis, but they behaved like a crab. They were basically masses of land come alive. Their bodies were made out of soil and whatever was residing in it. Fusion Matter ran down the outside and acted as the monster's veins. Grass grew atop the soil as well as an extremely large yellowish-orange mushroom, large enough to cover the creature. Kyle's Nanocom described the mushroom as where the monster got his power from.

KND agents fired numerous rockets and explosives at the creatures. It stopped them from moving, but it was not enough to topple them over. Firing at the mushroom proved useless as well. It remained unscathed after every attack attempted on it. Kyle attempted firing his rifle at one of the Don Doom's legs, but it seemed unfazed. He drew his sword and slashed its hind leg. It left a cut, but the Don Doom still didn't react. The KND were running out of explosives as well. They had to resort to firing regular ammo. The Don Dooms simply ignored them and continued advancing.

"Mandark!" Kyle screamed into his Nanocom. "How do you take out these things!"

"We used the DexCarrier and our other large airships." Mandark replied. "The DexCarrier is our only one left and it's busy taking care of the Blowfish monster."

"Then why did you tell me to-Augh!"

"Kyle? What happened? Hello?"

Kyle had been knocked aside by a Don Doom's foreleg and fell unconscious. The monster then raised its pincer, ready to pierce through Kyle's body.

It was complete darkness. Pitch-black darkness was all Kyle could see. He felt like he was floating in the air with his frontside facing the sky. This lasted for what seemed like forever until Kyle finally heard a voice speaking to him. He sounded rather annoyed, but spoke calmly, and his voice had a sort of warp to it, but Kyle could tell he didn't have any harmful intentions.

"You are going to let some inferior creature kill you right now?" the presence asked.

"Who- . . . Who are you?"

"Hm, so you can hear me now. I guess that blade of yours is the cause or you have grown strong enough."

"But your name?"

". . . Riyos."

* * *

><p>The Sweet Revenge was making its slow advance towards the Candy Pirate encampment. The ship was always able to sail across the seas, land, and even the far reaches of space. Now that it was equipped with the stolen Gravity Decelerator, the ship could finally move again despite being sunk.<p>

Fusion Stickybeard stood on deck to command his crew consisting of Fusion replicas of the Candy Pirates. The captain was large and had a big, red beard with various candies stuck to it. He wore a brownish green coat with its right sleeve tucked into a black glove. The other sleeve was tucked into the metal-plated hook hand, only the hook was an actual candy cane. He wore the same colored pants, a black belt, and black boots. His captain's hat also had skull with its tongue sticking.

The Fusion and his crew were firing the Sweet Revenge's gumball cannons at the Candy Pirates standing in their way. The human forces were fighting valiantly. Their motivation came from their anger that the Fusions were using their own ship against them. They couldn't get close enough to climb aboard so they had to resort to firing their own gumball cannons in hopes of slowing the ship down.

Both sides seemed to be evenly matched at first, but casualties for the Candy Pirates began to steadily increase. Things seemed to grow worse until one of the Candy Pirates noticed a KND agent joining the battle and relayed it to Captain Brock. By the time he received the message, even more KND members began to arrive. From an oncoming SCAMPER flying overhead, Numbuh 5 jumped from the open door and landed in the campsite. Captain Brock was standing there, waiting.

"Aye. Where have yee been?" he asked. "This scoundrel of our captain be tearin' us apart."

"Lay off the pirate talk, Brock. You never even liked using it in the first place."

"Heh. Just trying to continue our captain's memory. Anyway, thanks for showing up."

"What's the situation now?"

"We were starting to lose until you showed up. We've been trying to board the ship, but the ship's gumball cannons stop us from getting closer."

"Leave it to me. When we board, make sure you guys stay back and cover us."

"I'll send me best crewmates."

* * *

><p>Small battleships had been circling Megas, attempting to immobilize him by dropping explosive charges. It proved no effect; the armor was barely scratched. Fusion Coop, the one piloting, laughed maniacally, amused at the warriors attempts. An overweight man with darkened blonde hair and a beard, he wore a white shirt with an emblem containing the number, "12", and blue jeans. Over the shirt, he wore an open, red, plaid shirt with the sleeves torn off to resemble to a vest.<p>

The Fusion used the robot's weapons to take out some of the small air fleet. He was also stomping on all land vehicles that were approaching. The SACT agents were trying to trap him within electric grids. Sending barrages of rocket launcher ammo didn't help either. Buttercup was making her way to Megas' cockpit, dodging the Fusion's attempted laser attacks. It proved useless as Fusion Coop had set up a powerful energy barrier that knocked her away the moment she came in contact with it. Jack, who was standing nearby, managed to catch Buttercup during her fall and took her to safety.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Ugh . . . yeah, I'm fine. But I wasn't able to take out that shield thing. We get through unless that guy lowers it which is never gonna happen."

"I have a plan, but we'll have to make sure we don't make any mistakes."

"I'm listening . . ."

Jack unveiled a small bag hidden in his sleeve. He showed Buttercup the nine light blue gems contained inside.

"I've been saving them for the right moment. These gems create an extremely powerful binding prison. I doubt that even a robot of his strength can overcome it. I just need you to merely distract the Fusion so he doesn't notice me. I shall place eight of these around him and then climb his backside to place the final gemstone. Oh, and make sure he doesn't move far from where is now."

"Leave it to me!"

Buttercup flew towards Megas and spawned one of her large tornadoes. The shield made the robot immune to damage, but it didn't prevent it from being knocked over if enough force was applied. Megas fell with a powerful crash, enough to crack and shake the ground below him. Now that the Fusion was distracted trying to get the robot to stand up, Jack made his move. He placed one gem half-buried where he stood and continued doing so until he reached an octagon formation.

* * *

><p>"Why! Why did you make me kill one of my best friends!"<p>

Kyle had held a lot of anger deep inside him towards the demon that had possessed him. Now that he was finally speaking to him, this anger was ready to explode, but Kyle knew this would only possibly provoke him so he tried his best to hold it in.

"I was merely following orders." Riyos responded. "I would cease to exist if I did not do it. It was simply for the sake of survival."

"You would exchange someone else's life to save your own?"

"Everyone is afraid of death or ceasing to exist, even you. You spoke and thought of wanting to die many times in the last six years, yet you did not fulfill that wish. You were scared to do it yourself. Then you tried this risky time traveling opportunity. You were attacked almost immediately when you arrived in this twisted world. You shielded yourself in fear instead of just accepting it. That time in the large building. When the floor collapsed and you started plummeting to your doom, you were scared. The same happened when that big hairy creature grabbed you and was about to kill you had it not been for your other friend. And here you are now. You are afraid that the creature from before had killed you and you're now floating here for eternity, am I not mistaken?"

Kyle didn't know how to respond. What Riyos had said was the truth to him. Unable to come up with a response, he decided to try and change the subject.

"Who told you to do it?" Kyle asked.

"I'm afraid I am unable to reveal that."

"By the way, you sound-, no . . . speak more differently than what I can remember."

"So you can remember some of that particular day as well? How odd. Not many humans are capable of even remembering a small bit of their actions while they are possessed. As for your question, it is a trait of mine, my split personality. I am usually calm like I am now when dealing with things, but my employer made me bring out my power-hungry side. It was the only way for what he planned to succeed."

"I see . . ."

"You are still wondering if you are dead now? Then fear not. You are merely unconscious. It has barely been five seconds since it began."

"But how-"

"That is just what it is like inside one's subconscious."

"And I'm gonna die later from when that thing finally crushes me, aren't I?"

"Possibly. But personally, I do not want to let that happen. If you die, then I perish as well. All you need to do is give me control of your body and use my powers once again as your blade prevents me from doing so unless you will it. You will regain full control once those two dangerous threats have been eliminated."

"But . . ."

"It is your choice. Trust the demon who killed your best friend and made you go into a depressed state for six years or die right here, right now."

* * *

><p>"Augh!"<p>

Numbuh 5 had been knocked away by Fusion Stickybeard. She managed to lead the Candy Pirates onto the Sweet Revenge and more were starting to board. Now the whole ship was becoming the entire battlefield. Candy cane sword in hand, Fusion Stickybeard slowly walked toward Numbuh 5 who was still on the ground.

"You be a tough lassey. And a good one too. Shame it has to end this way . . ."

"You wish." Numbuh 5 replied.

Numbuh 5 got back up and stole a sword from one of the Fusion pirates, knocking him overboard.

"Shall we?"

"Ahahaha! I be liking your style. En garde!"

The two were now engaged in one last duel. All fighting on the ship ceased the moment it began. It was the Candy Pirates' personal pirate code. Even their Fusion counterparts obeyed and stopped the ship from going further. They all agreed to let a captain's duel to go without interference.

* * *

><p>Dee Dee's and Fusion Dexter's battle had left considerable damage to the laboratory. Many machines had been damaged or destroyed by brutal attacks, raging flames, or large explosions. The two fighters were still clashing with each other. Each had taken their hits from the other. Dee Dee's mecha-armor had been considerably damaged. Holes and dents in the metal were scattered all over with sparks coming from the teared-open parts. Fusion Dexter's outfit was torn and hisglasses were partially broken. His Fusion Matter skin didn't show it, but was feeling the pain of bruises. His weapon looked as if it wouldn't last longer. It was steadily starting to glow more brightly at a slow rate, ready to finally explode once it reached a certain point.<p>

"Heh . . . you're doing pretty well." Fusion Dexter remarked. "I never expected the fight to go for this long. I underestimated you. Too bad we damaged most of the stuff here. Looks like there we some pretty good stuff to take."

"Don't think this is over yet." Dee Dee replied.

Dee Dee activated one of his armor's mechanisms on her arm. It started glowing with bright green energy.

"Get ready . . . "

"Hmm . . . radioactive energy, huh?" the Fusion remarked, smiling and fixing his glasses. "And judging by your armor's conditions, it looks like it won't be able to stand the impact once it collides. You'll be defenseless if you do it."

"Does it look like I care?"

"Hahaha! Very well. Tell you what . . ."

Fusion Dexter activated a mechanism of his weapon. It also began to emit the same bright green glow as Dee Dee's weapon.

"Let's see what will happen. Shall we?"

Dee Dee and Fusion Dexter rushed towards each other. Their collided weapons resulted in a shockwave that sent both attackers flying in opposite directions. Dee Dee's armor fell on the floor during her flight. She crashed against some of the machines lying next to the wall. Fusion Dexter landed in a pile of canisters. He managed to recover easily. The Fusion started to walk over to Dee Dee's end. She barely managed to get up.

"It looks like I win." Fusion Dexter said. "So much for your last trick. . ."

"When did I say that was my last trick?" Dee Dee replied smiling.

Fusion Dexter was confused. He tried formulating what other possibilities Dee Dee could have. Most of the weapons in the laboratory were destroyed in the battle and she was too injured to make a break for it.

"What!" Fusion Dexter exclaimed. "What else can you be hiding? You can't possibly have anything else hidden? You're down to a ballerina outfit."

"Computress . . . can you hear me?"

Computress's voice came on all of the laboratory's remaining speakers that were functioning.

"Yes, Dee Dee. I am receiving you."

"Activate full lockdown . . . and the self-destruct procedure . . ."

"Understood. Initiating lockdown now. Self-destruct to activate in one minute."

All exits throughout the laboratory were locked down and blocked with steel doors. Any leftover weapons systems guarded them.

"Are you crazy!" Fusion Dexter exclaimed with a furious look. "You're still in here! You'll get wiped out too!"

"I already knew . . ." Dee Dee replied. "Dexter . . ."

* * *

><p><em>Few weeks after Fuse's invasion<em>

Dee Dee was cleaning her house when the phone rang. The caller ID was showing Dexlabs' name. Dee Dee stopped vacuuming and picked up the phone.

"Hey, Dexter. What's up? Mom and Dad okay?"

"Dee Dee," Dexter said. "I want you take care of something."

"Uh sure . . . what is it?"

"As you know, Planet Fusion has sent its creatures to attack us."

"Yeah, it's kinda a mess out there."

"I have a good feeling that they may go after my inventions in my old laboratory once they learn of its existence. Those secrets must not fall into their leader's hands."

"So you want me to get rid of them?"

"I'll leave that decision with you. Destroy them so they don't get used against us or keep the lab protected so we can use them for when the situation gets worse. You're my older sister. I trust your judgment. I've already told Computress to listen to your commands if you happen to be in there. By the way, don't get used to these kinds of conversations. Next time, I'll be still telling you how much of a stupid sister you are. That's it. Bye."

* * *

><p>"I've already decided." Dee Dee said. "I'll destroy the lab so you won't be able to use anything in here. So much for your plan . . ."<p>

"Why you!" Fusion Dexter exclaimed as he ran towards her.

"Goodbye . . ."


	16. Colossal Defeat

**Chapter 16 – Colossal Defeat**

**Author Notes:**

- Eh, I just added the "Computress seducing" part because I thought it was funny

- this the official end of the Future Arc. Suburbs Arc comes next

* * *

><p>"Your answer?" Riyos asked.<p>

"You swear I get control of my body back?"

Kyle was still distrusting of Riyos. He couldn't help but be suspicious of the demon's motives. Riyos could just be putting up the calm act to trick Kyle into giving him his body. On the other hand, Kyle knew he would be crushed to death if he didn't accept Riyos' offer.

"Alright." Kyle said hesitantly. "Do what you have to."

"Understood."

Everything went completely blank in Kyle's mind as he slowly lost his sense of awareness. It was as if he instantly fell into a trance the moment Riyos finished his sentence.

Kyle awoke to find himself standing with his sword in his right hand. His body was partially covered in Fusion Matter as if a bucket of the substance was dumped onto him. Patches of white were showing on his head, but he decided to ignore it for now. He looked around to see KND agents standing there in awe of whatever they just saw. Behind him, Kyle saw the destroyed remains of the two Don Doom lying there. Fusion Matter was still seeping from what remained of the bodies. Kyle was extremely curious and worried about what had occurred when he let Riyos use his body. He wished he could have at least been able to see what he was doing. Unlike last time, Kyle couldn't recall anything, not a single bit of a memory. He tried to mentally call Riyos to ask him about it.

Before he could get any type of response, one of the KND agents began yelling at Kyle, telling him to look behind him. Kyle heard it just in time for him to turn and block the attack of a large creature that was sneaking up on him. It was like a giant floating head based somewhat off a ram. About three times a human's size, it was basically a large ball of various minerals held together and come alive by Fusion Matter. Two other sets of clumped minerals formed the curled ram-like antlers. The Nanocom declared its name as a Bad Max. Its only forms of attacking were using its large mouth to bite through solid objects or using its sturdy body to ram enemies out of the way.

The blade of Kyle's sword was clenched between the Bad Max's teeth. The sword's material prevented it from breaking apart and its evil-vanquishing properties made the creature withdraw his hold once it couldn't further withstand the pain. The KND agents, following orders, hurried up to back up Kyle. The Bad Max easily fell now that it was distracted. Afterward, the KND agents went on ahead while Kyle answered his Nanocom. It was Mandark.

"Kyle, I have no what you did to take those Don Dooms down, but great job. We're still having trouble with cracking Larry's coding. We've even attached Larry's head to a power source in order to convince him, but he still refuses to let us access his data banks."

"Even Computress can't seduce him enough to get him to reveal it!" Numbuh 2 exclaimed.

"Just kill more monsters and buy us more time, Kyle! C'mon, Computress! That's not how you seduce a robot!"

* * *

><p>Numbuh 5 and Fusion Stickybeard were still battling out their duel. Both of them weren't showing any signs of exhaustion. The Candy Pirates and their Fusion counterparts were anxiously waiting to see the outcome of the battle.<p>

"Hehe. Since it's come down to this, why don't we make this interesting?" Fusion Stickybeard asked. "Winner of this duel take all?"

"Fine with me." Numbuh 5 replied.

The two jumped back a few feet in opposite directions and readied themselves, ready for one final draw. They ran towards each other at their full speed. Once close enough, they each swung their sword at the other at the same time. The two resumed their normal standing positions after a few seconds. Fusion Stickybeard then turned his head to Numbuh 5

"Heh, looks like I be goin' to Davy Jones' Locker."

With those final words, Fusion Stickybeard collapsed on the ship's deck and dissolved into a puddle of Fusion Matter. The Fusion Candy Pirates also dissolved as their lives were bounded to Fusion Stickybeard's existence. Their real counterparts started to celebrate for their victory. Captain Brock climbed aboard and approached Numbuh 5. She had fallen on her knees was grasping her bleeding arm. Fusion Stickybeard had managed to leave a cut behind during the duel.

"Hey, you okay?" Captain Brock asked.

"I'm fine." Numbuh 5 replied. "This is nothing compared to what I've experienced."

"That fight was pretty interesting. Never thought a Kids Next Door member would know how to use our swordsmanship. Though that's not far-fetched knowing you."

"I learned from the best. Anyway, I need to get back to Sector V. I need to see a friend off."

* * *

><p>The fight with Fusion Coop and Megas hadn't progressed by much on the heroes' side. Fusion Coop had managed to destroy many more of the SACT's units. There were still plenty of troops, but they were running out of tanks, motor vehicles, and other war machines which were what give them a fighting chance. The Fusion turned on the robot's speakers in confidence.<p>

"Hahaha! Is that all? C'mon! You can't take down just one enemy unit? Tisk tisk, this is disappointing. Hahaha! Huh-?"

Megas was knocked back by large boulders. Buttercup was standing at their source, holding two more in her hands.

"Yo, ugly!" she exclaimed. "Pick on somebody else!"

"You again, huh? Well this time, I'll make sure to take care of you. Take this!"

Fusion Coop used Megas' arms to shoot rockets at Buttercup. She managed to dodge the explosives, much to the Fusion's annoyance. He used more of the robot's modified weapons on Buttercup, but she still managed to avoid the onslaught and sent even more boulders at the robot. Fusion Coop was now irritated more than ever.

"You're a tough one." he said. "No worries though. I'll get you eventually."

"You sure are confident. It must be kinda nice to see everything up there."

"What are you blabbin' about-?"

"Now Jack!"

Jack, who had been clinging to the trunk of the car being used as Megas' head, revealed himself. He smashed the gen upon the roof of the car, burying it halfway inside. Jack whispered a magic incantation which activated the gem, indicated by the sudden glowing. The samurai then jumped a safe distance away. A ray of light emerged from the gem and divided into eight separate ones, each connecting the other gems spread out around Megas. Once fully connected, the rays formed a octagonal pyramid-shaped cage around the robot, effectively trapping the Fusion. What's more was that Fusion Coop couldn't move Megas at all. He continuously jabbed the control mechanisms to no avail.

"Wha-What is this! How did you get past the barrier?"

Jack walked up the cage and entered. His body simply phased through without trouble. He started to climb the robot till he was hanging from the chest portion of the body.

"Special gems that I came across during my travels." he answered. "For the one containing you, anything non-organic ceases to work and escape once trapped. Another gem I had in my possessed grants its wielder intangibility which was how I got past your barrier. Buttercup was just serving as a distraction the entire time."

"Why you!"

Jack unsheathed his sword and thrusted it into Megas's core. It was enough damage to render it unstable.

"I was hoping to find a way to release Megas from his prison," Jack stated. "but now it unfortunately looks like the time for him to be destroyed. Goodbye."

Jack jumped to the ground once again and ran back towards the entrance. Buttercup had already told nearby allies to run away and find cover. Bright light started to radiate from Megas. Fusion Coop desperately tried to get out, but the gems' field prevented the car doors from opening. The light was starting to be blinding for many people's eyes. Megas was soon consumed by a large explosion, sending many of his pieces ablaze and flying across the junkyard. When the chaos subsided, everyone started to emerge from their hiding spots and shelters.

"We . . . we did it." Buttercup said in relief.

"Yes." Jack said as he was picking up his sword from the debris. "Come, we must head back to Sector V. Kyle must be returned to the past."

* * *

><p>Kyle and the Kids Next Door were still battling monsters in Sector V. Their side was slowly gaining an upper hand. The two Don Dooms seemed to be the Fusions' trump cards. Now that they were killed, their advantage was damaged considerably. Numbuh 2, Mandark, and Computress had finally managed to convince Larry 3000 to help them and they were now programming the time destination.<p>

Kyle and three KND agents had just finished off a group of Shocktanglers as well as the Bad Max leading them when Kyle's Nanocom suddenly vibrated with a private message alert. He was confused as to why someone would see him a message in the middle of a worldwide battle. The sender was listed as "Unknown".

_Be prepared. I'll be waiting for you._

There was nothing else to the message. Kyle was wondering who send him a message like this. While he was staring the message, a Shocktangler had snuck up behind him. It grabbed Kyle and wrapped him in its cable tentacles, ready to electrocute him. Kyle struggled to break free, but the cables were too strong to break. Right before the Shocktangler could discharge the electricity in its body, three shots were fired. Two of them hit the cables holding Kyle and freed him while the other knocked the monster back. It was Eddy, now putting away a pistol. He was riding atop Eduardo. Sherri was also with him.

"Geez, kid." Eddy started. "I didn't think I'd have to save you from a measly Shocktangler. I'm starting to think you really didn't take out my Fusion."

Sherri helped Kyle to his feet and smacked him across the head.

"What happened to you!" she exclaimed. "Your hair is messed up again and you got captured! That doesn't sound like you!"

"Look. There hair's no big deal." Kyle replied. "And I was distracted when that thing got me."

"Luckily, Ed got us here in time."

"What are you doing here anyway? What about the Cul-de-Sac?"

"The guys there can take care of themselves." Eddy answered. "Besides, I heard that your headin' back to the past soon."

"Don't you dare think of going with him, Eddy." Sherri interrupted.

"Relax. I wanted to see the guy off. Plus, big Ed here wanted to as well. What about you, huh? You just tagged along when we left the gates."

"Well . . . uh . . .You guys needed protection. Ed would just run off scared and you wouldn't be able to handle a group of Fuse's creeps."

"Riiight."

Kyle's Nanocom then received a call from Mandark.

"Kyle!" he exclaimed over the live speaker function. "Get over here! We're ready!"

"You go with the two Eds." Sherri told him. "I'll stay here and stop more monsters from getting to the treehouse."

Kyle nodded and climbed on top of Eduardo, holding his left horn tightly. The Imaginary Friend began running at full speed to the treehouse as Sherri waved goodbye to the three. The KND guards protecting the bridge immediately recognized the trio and quickly moved out of way in order to not get knocked aside by Eduardo. Once across the bridge, Kyle showed Eddy the entrance to the treehouse. Eduardo had to stay behind since he wouldn't fit inside the passaways. Kyle left his Numbuh 2 Nano with him so he could use the Nano's recall power, Nonstop Flight, to teleport Eduardo to the laboratory.

Eddy was the first to enter the laboratory. He was a little amazed by the sight, but he always knew Dexter was capable of inventing a machine like this. Kyle came in afterward and activated a remote his Numbuh 2 Nano gave him. Within seconds, Eduardo instantly appeared in a flash of light with the Numbuh 2 Nano in his hands. The Nano immediately returned to Kyle's Nanocom to rest.

"Eddy?" Numbuh 2 asked. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to see the kid off." he replied. "So you got that piece of junk robot to work again, huh?"

"I am not a piece of junk!" Larry 3000 exclaimed.

"Would you shut up!" Mandark exclaimed. "We don't much time."

"What are you talking about?" Eddy asked. "I've been listening to the radio signals on my way here. Fusion Coop, Fusion Stickybeard, and that Fusion Mama Blowfish were all taken out."

"It's not that." Computress informed him. "We already lost this battle the moment began. They're using the same tactic they used at Technology Square. Doom Drones had been digging underground to cause the land to sink while dangerous forces are deployed above to distract us."

"Then why didn't you hunt for 'em!"

"Statistically, the chance of finding all of them in time is improbable. The top priority was the Time Machine. If the Fusions were left alone, there would be a high probably they would target this treehouse."

"Look on the bright side." Numbuh 2 told Eddy. "Kyle can possibly prevent this future from existing."

"Alright, enough talk." Mandark said. "I'm starting the Time Machine now."

"Wait, I'm here!" a voice exclaimed.

Numbuh 5 appeared in the doorway, almost of breath and still gripping her bleeding arm in pain.

"Numbuh 5!" Numbuh 2 exclaimed. "You shouldn't be moving if your arm is like that!"

"I have something important to give Kyle." she said. "I don't want Fuse to get his hands on 'em."

Numbuh 5 walked to Kyle. From her Nanocom, she handed him Ben's Ultimatrix. Kyle as well as Numbuh 2, Eddy, and Eduardo were surprised that she had it. Computress, and Mandark were unfazed by the sight.

"Where did you get Ben's Ultimatrix, Numbuh 5!" Numbuh 2 exclaimed.

"Does it really matter now?" she asked. "I can't let Fuse use one of the most powerful weapons in the universe for his own selfish gain. Kyle, I don't care if you decide to use it to give it to Ben when you get home. Just don't let Fuse get it."

"Anyone else need to tell Kyle something?" Mandark asked.

"Just tell Sockhead that I said thanks for what he's done." Eddy told Kyle.

"Eh, tell mi amigos that I miss then." Eduardo added.

"I'm okay." Numbuh 2 said. "There's nothing I need to tell my past self. He can figure things out himself."

"Give this to Blossom when you get there." a voice suddenly said.

Buttercup had arrived along with Jack. She held a folded piece of paper in her hands and gave it to Kyle.

"What's written in it?" Kyle asked.

"Just give it when you see her." Buttercup answered. "She'll be happy if she reads it."

Jack walked over the Mandark. They went to a corner of the room where the others couldn't hear them.

"Has the intended time destination been set?" Jack whispered.

"Yeah, but should we be really be doing this? I mean Kyle's just a normal kid. He doesn't need to get involved in something like this."

"He's not normal, very far from it, but you heard what he said. It must be done."

"Alright."

The two walked back and joined the others again. Everyone was saying their goodbyes to Kyle and how it was nice to meet him. Jack then placed his hand on Kyle's shoulder.

"I saw the remains of those Don Dooms." Jack told him. "Did you-."

"I had to." Kyle quickly interrupted. "It was killed or be killed."

". . . I understand. As long as he didn't . . . you know."

Kyle stood before the Time Machine where Numbuh 2, Mandark, and Computress were waiting. Numbuh 2 activated the time machine with the push of a button. Since it was a different model from what Kyle used, he just waited for instructions. In the middle of the machine, a bright light radiated and circular center projected the Time Vortex Kyle previously acquired. It was lightly sucking in the air.

"You can jump in it now since it's stabilized now." Mandark informed him. "You might be in for a rough landing though."

"Where will I arrive?" Kyle asked.

"Here in Sector V." Mandark responded. "I know Dexter set up devices to detect you if you ever returned so there shouldn't a problem.

"Will I find people I know right away?"

"Not me. I spent most of my time in Downtown then. Numbuh 2 is definitely going to be here in Sector V when you get back."

"Same thing with Blossom." Buttercup added. "She tended to spent most of her time in Sector V when she went out."

Kyle turned to see his friends waving goodbye to him. He smiled and was almost to the point of tears now that he had to leave them and let them suffer an inevitable fate.

"Well . . . I guess this is goodbye." he said. "I might meet some of you again, but since none of you will know me . . ."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't give us any of that emotional crap." Eddy interrupted.

The treehouse suddenly began shaking furiously as everyone tried to find something sturdy to hold onto. The Doom Drones had finished their assigned task. The entirety of what was left of the world was beginning to sink into the Fusion Matter ocean now.

"Kyle!" Numbuh 5 exclaimed. "Get out of here now!"

"But, you're all going to-"

"Just go, you idiot!" Buttercup interrupted. "You still have a chance to make things right unlike us!

The Powerpuff Girl quickly grabbed Kyle by his shirt and tossed him inside the Time Vortex before he could react, knowing he'd try to resist. The moment Kyle was fully consumed by the Time Vortex, the Time Machine ceased working. The vortex dispersed into small sparkles of light as the machine powered down. Buttercup then turned towards the others.

"I'm don't know what you guys are gonna do, but I'm not gonna die just standing here. I'm going down fighting!"

Everyone in the room rallied behind her and ran outside the laboratory, ready to fight to their last breath. Jack and Mandark stayed behind. Once the sound of the others' footsteps could no longer be heard, another person casually walked inside the room. He was a young middle-aged man. He dressed himself in a scientist's labcoat which he wore over light brown vest that covered his white collared shirt with a black tie. He pulled a pocketwatch from his black pants to check the time and closed it again.

"Has the plan followed accordingly?" he asked.

"Yes." Jack replied. "Mandark has set the time destination for two months after the beginning of the invasion."

"Excellent. I should meet him ten months ago."

"I really don't get you sometimes, Professor Paradox." Mandark remarked. "Was it really necessary to not send him back to his original time?"

"Oh, don't be silly. It's only two months. It won't affect him that much."

"You do know not everyone is immortal like you."

"But you're forgetting I can traverse time. I know everything that happens, even the explosion that just occurred one thousand three hundred and seventy-eight meters from here."

"So what are you going to do now?" Jack asked.

"I would tell you, but that would be spoilers now, wouldn't it?"


	17. Welcome Back

**Chapter 17 – Welcome Back**

**Author Notes:**

- I don't think I handled Kyle's new reason to join the war very well. Opinions?

- Suburbs arc starts now. If you want a vague hint to where it ends, then Him (Powerpuff Girls) is involved

* * *

><p><em>Present Timline: 2 months after the initial invasion<em>

Technology Square was in relative peace. The war with Fuse had put everyone on relative alert, but the more daring people still tried to live normal lives. The Cyberus and Tech Wing numbers weren't nearly as high as the future timeline's numbers, but they were still dangerous. Officials and other armies had blocked public access to all areas where they roamed. Normally populated attractions had a number of guards stationed in them to protect civilians trying to enjoy themselves. All of this applied to the rest of the world as well.

Dexter was in the middle of doing his daily routine at Dexlabs. He was experimenting with different chemicals, trying to find a mixture that would prove effective against Fuse's monsters. All of this was put on hold when a special alarm went off throughout the lab. Dexter almost dropped the chemicals from shock when he recognized it.

"What the? Can it be? Computress! What happened?"

"It appears a timehole has opened and activated one of the sensors you have placed."

"What? Why has he appeared in this time? Where is that timehole?"

"Scanners indicate he appeared in Sector V. Hero Square to be more specific."

"Computress, send for a ship that'll take me to Sector V immediately."

"Understood. The nearest ship should belong to Providence."

Kyle was beginning to regain consciousness. The feeling was like Technology Square all over again. He opened his eyes to find himself lying in Hero Square. Luckily, nobody was around so he didn't have to awkwardly explain his presence. Everything looked normal now. He thought he was back to him own time until he saw a terrafuser hidden between the trees and a small group of Fusion Spawns roaming around it.

"_What the? I thought I should be in my own time!_"

It was a relieving site when Kyle saw the KND treehouse hovering above ground just like he remembered. He knew where to go for help now. Before he ran off, Kyle decided to look at the Hero Square monument. Kyle was puzzled as to why only Buttercup's image was shown on the projectors. He recalled someone in the future telling him it was a monument for those who died in battle. He then remembered the note Buttercup had given him. It would possibly explain things. He still had it in his back pants pocket and now held it in his hands. Buttercup hadn't told him specifically, but Kyle assumed she wanted Blossom to see it first.

"You're not supposed to read that yet." a voice said behind him.

Kyle turned to see Professor Paradox standing behind him. He had a warm smile on his face, as if he was expecting Kyle.

"Who are you?" Kyle asked.

"Me? Why I'm Professor Paradox. Don't you remember? Nice to meet you again."

"I've never seen you before in my life . . ."

"Oh, right. We haven't met yet, chronologically speaking. I'm Professor Paradox though 'Paradox' is just a name Benjamin Tennyson gave me as I already forgot my own name. I took quite a fond for 'Paradox' so that's what I go by now. It looks like Jack's and Mandark's teamwork went just as planned."

"Wait, what? You're the reason I was sent here?"

'That is correct. And before you ask why, I did it because it's what history demanded. As for what time you are in, it's currently two months after Fuse invaded the planet, a perfectly excellent time for you to begin working."

"Working on what?"

"Why, fighting for our world's cause, of course."

"Look, I just wanted-"

"To go home, isn't it? That's what you originally told me when I first met you."

"You're not making any sense."

"It's the simple rules and logic of the space-time continuum, my boy. I doubt anyone can comprehend without full dedicated study to it."

"Okay, but if you're a time traveler, then why didn't you fix that mess of a future by warning people?"

"But then people would assume I'm a crazy mental lunatic who's prophesying the end of the world. Besides, there are many things that even a being like me cannot do or change."

"Then how am I supposed to beat someone who managed to create that devastated future?"

"Oh, you'll find that out on your own. You better hurry to the treehouse now. Dexter will be there sometime later. Numbuh 2 should be expecting you as well. Oh, and I must have the Ultimatrix you have in your possession. Fuse will be relentless once if he's finds out you have it."

Kyle hesitantly handed over the Ultimatrix to Paradox. He was a little suspicious of what his motives were as he constantly spoke with a calm demeanor, making it hard to determine the intentions behind his words. Paradox kindly thanked Kyle as he took out his pocketwatch and opened the lid. In flash of light, Paradox disappeared before Kyle's eyes.

Deciding to follow Paradox's words, Kyle resolved to go to the treehouse to meet up with Dexter and Numbuh 2, hoping to find some answers as well. He rode the zipline to the treehouse. It looked the same as he left it although more undamaged. Kyle used the quick-access entrance that Numbuh 2 told him of in order to avoid trouble with KND soldiers patrolling the hallways and corridors. He carefully made his way to the laboratory unseen. Numbuh 2 was sitting at a lab table, working on one of his inventions.

"Numbuh 2." Kyle said as he entered the room.

The operative almost fell out of his seat from the surprise Kyle had just given. He was about to draw a weapon until he looked at Kyle more closely. His clothes were still stained by Fusion Matter as well as his hair. To him, it looked like Kyle was recently attacked.

"Geez, kid." Numbuh 2 remarked. "What in the world happened to you? And how the heck did you get in here?

"Well, it's a long story . . . you want to actually listen?"

"Eh, I'm fine with it. I'm not really doing anything today. You know, it's kinda weird. I have a feeling I know you from somewhere."

* * *

><p>In Candy Cove, Captain Stickybeard and his Candy Pirates were celebrating their discovery of buried treasure. While they were partying, Captain Brock, now known as Brock in this time period, was sitting against a tree under its shadow. He was staring blankly into space. He was always a daydreamer when he was off-duty. A nearby voice called his attention. A female member of the Candy Pirates was running towards him.<p>

"Jane?" Brock asked. "We are you doing here? You're supposed to be at your post."

"I know, but we need help!" she replied. "Some of our mates found an unconscious landlubber washing up on shore! He looks like he may be part of one of our divisions!"

"What? Alright, I'll go make sure he's okay. You go tell our captain. Make sure to bring one of our crew's doctors!"

"Understood!"

* * *

><p>"Interesting story." Numbuh 2 remarked. "Quite an exciting adventure."<p>

"So do you believe me?" Kyle asked. "Though it would make sense if you didn't."

"Of course, Kyle. You should've said you were Dexter's Time Machine guy. I got the message you were coming a few weeks ago."

"One of the boxes Mandark sent back? You got one?"

"Well, it was intended for Ben, but from what you told me, the entire metropolitan area was destroyed so Mandark wanted me to pass it onto him."

"Do you know where the others went to?"

"Double D from Peach Creek told me he got one, but he never talked about it since. Dexter got the third one and I have no idea what happened to the fourth. Apparently, it was supposed to go to Blossom, but we've searched all over Pokey Oaks for it."

"Speaking of Blossom, there's something I need to give her."

"She's not here right now, but I'll try to tell you she stops by. Oh, you have four Nanos, right?"

"Yeah. Buttercup, you, Eddy, and Eduardo. Why?"

"We don't have enough data on Buttercup's Fusion since she's always escaped our attempts to defeat her. You should give the Nano to Dexter for a little bit since we can gather data based on the Nanos our troops bring back."

"How long until he gets here anyway?"

A sound of a ship landing was heard from the landing zone located at the top of the treehouse. Numbuh 2 walked over to a computer and activated a communicator.

"Numbuh 688." he said. "What's going on?"

"A Providence ship has requested clearance to park in our landing zone." a male voice responded. "I gave the permission."

"Who's on it?"

"Dexter. He said he wants to see a kid named 'Kyle'?"

"I'd say right about now." he said to Kyle. "C'mon, follow me up to the roof."

Numbuh 2 led Kyle to the landing zone where the Providence ship was awaiting. The two stood there patiently waiting for the cockpit doors to open. Once the doors opened, Dexter walked out, talking to two people. They wore skin-tight black suits that covered their entire bodies including the head. Their armor was colored pure white. It consisted of a vest-like chestplate, utility belt, gloves, and boots. They also wore a visor which prevented people from seeing their eyes. These kind of people were known as Providence agents.

Providence was an organizations dedicated to deal with creatures known as Exponentially Variegated Organisms, or "EVOs" for short. EVOs were creatures or organisms mutated into destructive monsters due to the effects of the nanites inside their bodies activating. Nanites were microscopic machines that could be found in every living organism, but it wasn't always like this. The cause of this was due to an event five years prior to the current time. A large explosion happened and released countless nanites into the atmosphere. They eventually fell back down to Aetas and bonded to the molecular structure of anything that was alive. Since then, any living thing could possibly have their nanites activated at a random given time. When that happened, the host would be turned into an EVO. If the person or creature was lucky, he would still retain control of himself. It was Providence's job to capture and cure EVOs though the method they used for curing was generally unknown to the public.

"Yes, yes." Dexter said to the agent holding a clipboard. "I'll focus some of my Weapons Development research to combat those EVO once Fuse is defeated."

Dexter looked towards Kyle now. He was glad to see him again.

"I see you've made it back. You'll have some explaining to do."

"I know." Kyle remarked.

"Shall we talk in to meeting room?" he asked Numbuh 2.

"Sure, we can talk in the meeting room, but what about the Providence ship?"

"Oh, it's going to take off soon. I have some small business I have to take care of in the Cul-de-Sac once I'm done here."

"Okay then. Let's go inside."

Dexter and Kyle followed Numbuh 2 as he led them to the treehouse's meeting room. Circular in shape, there were consoles, computers, and other machine linings the walls. The room was brightly lit thanks to the large window to allow sunlight. Kyle had missed the sunlight so it relieved him somewhat. In the center was a small circular seating with a large tire in the middle. The tire had a keyboard attached to it as well. From where the group entered, they were standing on an elevated platform. There was a podium with the KND initials on it and stairs leading down to the rest of the room. The three of them sat down as Kyle gave a summary of his adventure in the future with Dexter.

"So Professor Paradox sent you here instead of the?" Dexter asked.

"Yeah, he said that 'history demanded it'." Kyle replied.

"Well, he is a strange man given who he is. I'll speak to Ben or one of his friends if they've been approached by him lately. Truth be told, I spoke to him on my way here. He said you're crucial to winning this war."

"But how am I supposed to beat a powerful alien overlord?"

"Professor Paradox told me to ask about the sword you have in your possession."

Kyle shocked by the thought of what Paradox could possibly mean, but reluctantly rematerialized his sword on the tire to show Dexter. The boy genius picked it up and examined it more closely. He seemed surprised that there wasn't a single scratch on it after hearing the fights it was involved in.

"Who gave this strange piece to you?" Dexter asked.

"Samurai Jack." Kyle replied. "Do you happen to know where he is by the way?"

"Now where he is right now." Numbuh 2 informed him. "Somebody said he saw him in Orchid Bay City, but then one our operatives saw him in the Nowhere Desert a few days later. He seems to be acting like a mercenary nowadays, but there are rumors he's trying to find something."

"Aside from that," Dexter said, "why did he give you this, Kyle?"

Kyle had left out the details of Riyos and everything about him in his retelling. He was scared that telling anyone else about it would bind him a dangerous freak and, in turn, cause him to be hunted down like an animal. He decided to lie until he could fully trust Dexter with the truth.

"Jack didn't want Fuse to get his hands on it." Kyle replied.

"I see . . . Well, it'll make a good weapon to defend yourself."

"I guess I can't go back to my own time, can't I?"

"Paradox would only interfere. Even if we did send you back to the proper time, Paradox would probably take you back here again."

"So what should I do from now on? Go home?"

"Aren't you going to follow Paradox's words? You're crucial to the war."

"You want to be rid of me," Riyos suddenly said in Kyle's mind, "am I correct? Then fight."

Kyle was unsure. He never wanted to be involved in something this big and complicated.

"B-But . . ."

"You wish to have more time?" Dexter asked.

"No, it's just . . . what about my mom?"

"I . . . informed your mother of what happened. She didn't react, but I assumed she was holding in her emotions. She did say that if you returned, you're free to do whatever you want. I don't know what prompted her to say that, but it's what she said."

"You do not want to see your friends die again either." Riyos stated. "All because you did not decide to protect them."

"It's okay." Numbuh 2 said, trying to encourage him. "You'll have support from me and the many others you'll meet on the way."

Dexter adjusted his glasses and held out his hand, asking for a handshake.

"So what do you say? You in?"

Kyle took another moment to think. Riyos' words were what affected him the most. It was quite ironic and strange for Kyle that the demon was actually encouraging him somewhat. Kyle slowly and hesitantly grabbed Dexter's hand then gave a reassuring shake.

"Al-Alright . . ."


	18. Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice

**Chapter 18 – Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice**

**Author Notes:**

- I'm using the Greek names for months and days for variety

- the dates I show in this chapter might be changed if I need to do it

* * *

><p>Kyle and Numbuh 2 were waving to goodbye to Dexter as he left on a SCAMPER for Peach Creek. Kyle was still feeling a little regret that he agreed to join the heroes' cause, but he wasn't normally the type of person to go back on his word.<p>

"You know where your room is, right?" Numbuh 2 asked.

"Yeah, I remember."

"I suggest you at least take a shower or something and clean yourself up. You're a mess."

Numbuh 2 was right. The Fusion Matter stains on his clothes had finally set. There were even some noticeable tears in his jacket and pants.

"Computress did drop off some new clothes on your bed." Numbuh 2 informed him. "I'm pretty sure they're the exact same as the ones you're wearing right now so there shouldn't be any problems."

"Thanks, Numbuh 2."

Kyle headed to his room in the treehouse. Like Numbuh 2 had said, there was a new set of clothes lying at the foot of it. Even the shirt had the same "D", perfectly mimicking the style Kyle painted on it. Next to the set of clothes was a new, clean replica of his hat. Kyle immediately felt his head upon seeing it. He hadn't even noticed that it had gone missing during the battle in the future timeline's Sector V. One top of the hat, Kyle found a note.

_You forgot your hat. I took the liberty of cleaning it. I also left a bottle of hair dye if you still wish to use it - Yours truly, Professor Paradox_

Kyle laughed to himself as he threw away the paper. He took a small shower and dyed his hair black again once he got the chance. He then tried on his new clothes. They were all a perfect fit. Kyle kept his old worn-out clothes in his Nanocom's storage.

Kyle decided to spend the rest of the day in his room. He was already tired and worn out from his previous battle. He just wanted to rest while at least getting informed about the events that had happened in the last two months. Dexter had modified Kyle's Nanocom with all the current data they had. He regrettably had to remove all the data from the future timeline Kyle had in order for his Nanocom to be able to be synced with the worldwide network. Dexter kept the future data with him as it would prove useful now that the heroes had it.

Some major events recorded in the Nanocom's database went as followed:

_1 Iounios; 12:00 – Initial invasion_

_8 Iounios; 12:00 – Worldwide invasion begins_

_10 Iounios – Failed attempt at attacking Planet Fusion._

_11 Iounios – Spaceports all over the world turned into Infected Zones. Interplanetary travel made impossible_

_13 Iounios – Kids Next Door and teen ninjas for alliance to fight alien invasion_

_14 Iounios – Peach Creek Urban Rangers join alliance and begin construction of Cul-de-Sac fortress_

_16 Iounios – Dexlabs joins alliance_

_18 Iounios – Mayor of Townsville announces entire city joining the alliance_

_21 Iounios – Many more cities join alliance. Essentially, the entire southwest continent is united_

_25 Iounios – Worldwide summit at Mt. Neverest is called_

_1 Ioulios; 15:00 – Unification of the world_

Kyle continued reading about more minor events until late in the evening where he finally fell asleep. It was the first time in a while where he could sleep peacefully.

Even though his body was resting, the inside of Kyle's mind was still fully active. In a dream-like representation of himself, Kyle opened his eyes to find himself floating in a black empty space. All Kyle could clearly see was the shadowed figure a few meters in front of him. There were no distinctive features to the figure aside from its glowing red eyes. It was simply the shape of a naked human male.

"So you have made up your mind?" the figure asked in Riyos' voice; it was his current representation in Kyle's subconscious.

"Yes," Kyle responded, "but why did you encourage me?"

"It was what you wanted deep down. You cannot deny that. A repeat of seeing a friend die before your eyes is something that you never want to see again. Not joining this war would inevitably lead to that. Joining would at least lessen those chances if what those men spoke of was the truth."

"Wouldn't you try to take my body though if I kept fighting?"

"Honestly, I am a strong believer in destiny. And since that man said you are 'crucial', I guess that will never happen until this war ends. And even if I did take your body, I would have no use for it. I have been bored for what has been centuries so I have no interest of taking control. Perhaps observing these events unfold will at least entertain me."

"Watching people possibly die entertains you?"

"Not at all though the other side of me greatly enjoys it."

"Whatever. We're done here, right?"

"Hmph, whatever you say."

Kyle awoke to find it the sun shining in his eyes through the windows. He shut the curtains so he could gather his things, unaffected by the glare. Afterward, he headed to Numbuh 2's laboratory. The scientist was working on the same invention of his again as Kyle entered. It seemed to be a weapon as it resembled a firearm.

"Morning, Kyle."

"Hey. So where should I start now that I've joined you guys?

"Well, you should be familiar with the area and I'm pretty sure you know you're way around Pokey Oaks, Genius Grove, and the Peach Creek area, but many people around here obviously won't know you so you should get to know them as well."

"So is there anyone that I would know around here?"

"Oh! I almost forgot! Blossom came back. She should be still outside the treehouse managing reports with some of our operatives. She doesn't leave for patrol until noon so you have plenty of time. As for the others . . . Eddy will usually be at the Cul-de-Sac. Sherri likes to alternate between here, Pokey Oaks, and Peach Creek so you'll have to ask around. Numbuh 108 does guard duty around here. Numbuh 5 goes on a lot of missions since she's in charge of the KND units in these suburban areas, but I do know she's usually doesn't go to the Wilderness or Downtown. Dee Dee's still at her house. Eduardo would probably be at Foster's. I have no idea who this 'Brock'person is, but I think he should be with the rest of the Candy Pirates from what you told me about him. Oh, and Buttercup . . ."

"Something wrong?"

"Well, a four days before the invasion, the Powerpuff Girls got into trouble with, Mojo Jojo. Before he was defeated, he knocked Buttercup into the sea. We spent lots of time looking for her, but we never found her. We assumed she was lost so that's why she's there. And from your story, apparently she's still alive."

"_I guess that's what the note is for." _Kyle thought.

"You should tell Blossom when you talk to her. I'm sure she'll be happy!"

Numbuh 2 went back to work as Kyle left the treehouse. He came to the house's driveway and found Blossom sitting atop a pile of crates, staring out into the distance while the cool breeze blew her hair. She didn't appear to be working like Numbuh 2 said until Kyle noticed a small number of papers in one of her hands. She quickly noticed Kyle as he approached her.

"Oh, hey." she greeted him as she jumped off the crates. "Do I know you? You look familiar . . ."

Kyle didn't want to say he came from the future and had already met her personally as it would only make the situation awkward.

"My name's Kyle. You might remember me from one of your battles in Townsville though I would've been just a random guy watching."

"Hm . . . No. That's not it. But just forget about that for now. What do you want?"

Kyle handed her the note Buttercup had given him.

"What is this?" she asked.

"It's from- . . . You know, it might be better for you to just read it yourself."

Blossom took a moment to unfold the paper and fully read it. By the time she was finished, she was in tears. She quickly grabbed hold of Kyle and hugged him.

"Thank you." she said tearfully.

"What was in it?"

Blossom handed the note back to Kyle so he could read it himself.

_Hey, Blossom. It's me, Buttercup. The kid in front of you is named Kyle. He got sent to this future world where Fuse has almost destroyed everything. Everybody who was left worked together and managed to send him back though this isn't really what I wanted to say. Because of Kyle, I'm able to tell you this. I'm sorry for making you, Bubbles, and the Professor worry about me, but I swear I'm fine. If you really want to see me again, then go to Marquee Row and ask around for someone named "Belladonna". She'll know where I am. Bring Bubbles and the Professor if you want. Looking forward to see you again! Kick some Fusion butt for me! – Buttercup_

"I didn't believe it at first," Blossom said, "but there's only one person I know with that handwriting. Thank you so much!"

"You're going to see her now?"

"I really want to, but I can't abandon my duties here. I'll go immediately when I get free time, but that won't come until I resolve this issue I'm having."

Kyle knew Blossom desperately wanted to see her sister. He at least owned Buttercup for sending him back and essentially saving his life when he could've hesitated and decided to stay in the apocalyptic future.

"I'll help with it." Kyle said. "It's a good way to get started with helping out anyway. What's happening?"

"Do you know Dexter?" she asked.

"Yeah, he was just here yesterday."

"He was? Oh, nevermind that. Anyway, his sister, Dee Dee, lives alone at their house in Genius Grove ever since Dexter and his parents moved to Tech Square."

"Yeah, I know that."

"Dexter's parents wanted to make sure nothing went wrong since she's by herself, kinda being overprotective, so they told the Professor to check up on her once in a while."

"Yeah, and?"

"Well yesterday, the Professor was on his visit. When he came back, the house was broken into."

"Was anything stolen?"

"Only from the Professor's laboratory. They stole samples of sugar, spice, and everything nice."

"That's the stuff that created you and your sisters, right?"

"You know the story, huh? Well, some these Kids Next Door patrol team in Pokey Oaks said they've seen traces of the stolen ingredients scattered across Pokey Oaks. You could maybe try looking around town and see if you can find out where it's coming from. If you do, make sure to tell me. I would this by myself or order some agents to do it, but I put jobs on hold until I'm positive we know who the culprit is and there're currently not enough agents because they're on a mission with Numbuh 5."

"Okay, I'll do my best."

Kyle took a SCAMPER flight to Pokey Oaks. That Malph's Mall encampment was still the same. On the way as he looked out the window, he saw that the KND Training Ground Infected Zone didn't exist yet, but Pokey Oaks High was already inside shield barriers. Sector V and Pokey Oaks looked much better now. There were no more elevated masses of earth, fissures, and paths of destructions. Everything looked peaceful now aside from spots where Fusion Matter infection was obvious.

Once the ship landed, Kyle began searching near the Powerpuff Girls' home, looking for clues or traces of the stolen ingredients. There weren't as many Fusion monsters as Kyle remembered. They seemed to only appear in areas that had a terrafuser inside them. Along the way, he noticed a group of monsters the Nanocom named "Ball-Peen Meanies". They were suspiciously huddling over something. Kyle hid by a nearby tree and peered closer. He saw the monsters scooping up pieces of sugar. When they were done, Kyle closely followed them unnoticed. He saw them enter the Pokey Oaks High Infected Zone. Confident there were no other monsters around, Kyle contacted Blossom of the situation.

"I think I found them." he told her. "Some monsters that had some sugar went inside the Infected Zone."

"That fast?" she questioned. "That seemed easier than I thought. Are you ready for a Fusion fight?"

"You guys sure pick great times." he sarcastically remarked. "I just got here and there's already a Fusion to deal with . . ."

"Hey, that's what we deal with normally nowadays. I'm heading over to the school now. You can meet me at the school's entrance. I've been meaning to take this one out for a while."

"Alright, I'll meet you there."

Kyle entered the Infected Zone and looked around. The school building was still in the shape of disrepair, but the school grounds were in a much better condition compared to the future. This time, there wasn't a large opening in the ground that prevented Kyle from accessing the building on foot. He stood beside the front doors, waiting for Blossom to arrive. After a few minutes, she landed directly in front of him.

"You ready to go?" she asked as they went inside.

"Yup. So who's the Fusion?"

"Mine. What a drag . . ."

"Great, one with superpowers." he moaned.

"I talked to Numbuh 2 before I left. I thought you got a Buttercup Nano? This shouldn't be tough if you managed to do that."

"Yeah, but Dexter was there to help me. I didn't do much but get sent flying and freeing Dexter from his cage."

"Well, you still have a superpowered teenage girl with you so no worries, right?"

"Heh. I guess so. So where is she? Fusion Portal, right?"

"Yup. I don't know why, but lately, a few Fusions have been using this school as their base. It's not big enough for all of them so they set up Fusion Portals throughout the Infected Zone."

"So we're in the perfect setup for an ambush?"

"Relax. Fusions can't detect or see what's going on the outside from inside unless they somehow got a hold of some surveillance technology, but we recovered and removed all of them from the school. They also don't spend much time outside their lair in an Infected Zone this small."

"Well, that's good. Makes me feel a little better. So where's Fusion Blossom's portal?"

"Should be right here . . ."

The two walked around a corner and Blossom opened the door to the principal's office. The Fusion Portal was sitting in the corner of the room next to a bookshelf and potted plant. Kyle and Blossom proceeded to touch the portal's tentacles, transporting them inside the lair. Once inside, Kyle followed closely behind Blossom, covering the rear and whispering to her so avoid detection.

"You got us this far." Kyle told her. "Now where is she?"

"I don't know. I'm trying to find some of her goons so they can lead us to her . . . Wait."

The two heard some metal-clanking noise around a corner. They clung to the walls and peered closer. It was the same Ball-Peen Meanies that Kyle spotted before. He was sure of it because he remembered some distinct features that separated some from the others he had noticed. He told Blossom to follow them.

"So why are they stealing this stuff in the first place?" Kyle asked.

"The Fusion versions of the Powerpuff Girls weren't made the way the original ones were made. We're assuming that Fuse is trying to get the ingredients so he can make even more powerful Fusion versions of us. It's too bad that the final ingredient is going to be the most difficult to get."

"And that's?"

"Can't tell. It's a secret. C'mon, I think we're almost there."

The two were approaching the entrance to the lair's main chamber. They could hear the voice of a female coming from inside. They peeked around the corner to see Fusion Blossom receiving the stolen ingredients from her minions. She placed all the materials in three, giant, respective piles.

"Excellent work, guys. Take the exit portal and find anymore you might've dropped or maybe some more new batches."

Fusion Blossom hovered to what looked like her personal lounge area that she made. She sat down in a pink beanbag chair and began reading a book complete with lamp next to her for seeing the text more clearly. Kyle and the real Blossom were still looking into the chamber deciding on their next course of action.

"Seriously? She's reading a book in a place like this?" Kyle asked.

"Hey, this is what she would call 'home'."

"What's the plan? Just rush in?"

"For now, it looks like just a basic 'go in and kick her ass'. Kyle, I'll go in and take her on. We should be fighting evenly so just wait for moments where you can land a hit or deal a finishing blow with one of your weapons.

"Okay. C'mon. Let's-"

"You know, you can stop babbling over there and meet me face to face now." Fusion Blossom said as she turned to her next page.

She absentmindedly snapped her fingers. The sound activated the explosive terrafusers behind Kyle and Blossom and sent the two flying into the chamber with the Fusion. Fusion Blossom snapped her fingers again and activated another mechanism. A green energy barrier formed behind the two intruders, blocking their only possible escape route until the Fusion was defeated which would unlock the exit portal. Kyle stood back up and tried to break through sword, but was no use. He tried again with his rifle, but the same result still occurred.

"So you came to get back the stolen stuff, right?" the asked as she hovered closer to the two. "But let's just see if you can really do it!"

Fusion Blossom flew towards her counterpart at full speed, catching the real Powerpuff Girl off guard. She uppercut Blossom into the air and then kicked her right in the stomach, knocking her against the wall.

"Blossom!" Kyle exclaimed. "Are you okay!"

"Ugh . . . yeah, I'm fine!" she replied.

Blossom flew towards her Fusion and the two engaged in a heated battle. Kyle could barely keep up with how fast they were fighting each other. All he could do was stand and witness the struggle hoping he would not get caught in the middle. Behind him, he heard the sounds of monsters approaching. He turned to see small groups of Ball-Peen Meanies starting to enter the chamber. The barrier seemed to only prevent people from leaving. Grasping his weapons, Kyle ran towards the monsters and began to disperse of them.

"Uh Blossom," Kyle said, "you might want to hurry. I'm not exactly sure if more of these guys coming once I kill them."

"Whoa! It's not exactly easy over here either." Blossom replied while dodging another punch and kick.

"Don't get distracted now!" Fusion Blossom exclaimed.

Blossom and her Fusion continued battling each other. Both fighters were still fighting evenly, each worn down and damage-sustained. Kyle managed to defeat all the monsters that came inside the barrier. He didn't see or hear any more monsters approaching, but he knew that could change as long as the Fusion was still alive. He turned to pay attention to the main fight again. Blossom and her counterpart were now holding onto each other, wrestling in the air. Now that they were moving at a pace Kyle could keep up with, Kyle took up his rifle and set it to shoot a powerful paralyzer. Carefully, he aimed at the Fusion waiting for the right moment. Despite the even match, Blossom managed to gain the upper hand and kicked her Fusion towards the piles of the stolen ingredients.

"Now, Kyle!" Blossom exclaimed.

Kyle quickly fired the paralyzer shot. It hit its mark the moment Fusion Blossom landed in the piles. It electrified her entire body while she screamed in pain. Kyle started to run towards her to make sure it worked, but Blossom extended her arm to block him and prevent him from going further. She took a deep breath and blew an icy cold wind towards her Fusion, her signature ice breath. The Fusion tried to move, but her body was suffering from paralysis. Blossom attack caused ice to slowly form around her Fusion. It almost looked as if she was crystallizing. Soon, Fusion Blossom was encased in a large block of ice. Kyle was starting to shiver from the attack's side effect of lowering the room temperature in an enclosed space.

"You could've warned me how cold it was gonna be." Kyle remarked shivering.

"Sorry."

Blossom walked up to the frozen Fusion and punched the ice right in the center. The ice along with the Fusion shattered into many pieces. The monsters that had just arrived as backup were now fleeing in terror from the sight of their leader being destroyed. The Fusion's frozen remains were now melting and started to gather together. Kyle started to back away, thinking that Fusion Blossom was reviving herself..

"It's okay." Blossom assured him. "This is normal for them anyway. They can't regenerate to their original form once they're like this, though they can't pass on when their parts are separated. It's sorta like their emergency mechanism. C'mon, you can make a Nano from this one."

The remains came together and formed another puddle of Fusion Matter. Kyle aimed his Nanocom and synthesized another Nano from it, Blossom's. Her powers were listed as "Ice Breath", "Liberty Bell", and "Everything Nice".

"Cute." Blossom remarked as she petted the miniature version herself. "C'mon, let's get back to Sector V. I'm beat."

"What about these ingredients?" Kyle asked.

"Oh, right. Thanks for reminding me."

Blossom used her super breath to blow the sugar pile a safe distance. She then concentrated her energy to form a wide-range heat vision laser from her eyes. In a minute, she burnt the other two piles until nothing was left. Blossom used her ice breath to put out any remaining fires.

"The sugar?" Kyle questioned.

"We'll just have to leave it. It'll explode and make this place cave in if I use my heat vision."

Kyle and Blossom left the liar through the exit portal and were back outside the school entrance. Blossom was too tired to fly back to Sector V so Kyle helped her walk back to the mall encampment. She was a little stubborn when the agents there offered to treat her wounds as Blossom insisted that she only needed rest and her body's advanced natural healing would do the rest. The two took a SCAMPER back to Sector V.

"So, did Buttercup say anything about me?" Blossom asked.

Kyle knew she was extremely curious about Buttercup. He didn't want to disappoint her, but he didn't want to lie to her either.

"I'm sorry," Kyle replied, "but she never said anything about you, Bubbles, or Professor Utonium."

"I wonder why . . ."

"The reason might be because of . . . you and Bubbles."

"I'm not following."

"Along with Buttercup, you two helped play a part in rescuing Dexter. The thing was that I never saw or heard from you two again after that day. I also one time saw Buttercup in your house holding one of your bows in her hands. She seemed to be in a daze when I saw her. I'm pretty sure you're smart enough to piece those things together . . ."

"I understand. I guess I'd be doing the same thing if I was in her place . . ."

* * *

><p>"Hello? Is this Numbuh 2 of the Kids Next Door?"<p>

"Double D? Yeah, it's me. What do ya need?"

"I was organizing Eddy's new acquired items today when I came across a strange device."

"What is it?"

"It looks like an alien device, obvious by the outworldly design. I have no idea how Eddy got his hands on it, but I'm not letting him deal with something potentially dangerous and out of my understanding."

"Shouldn't you ask Ben for things about aliens?"

"I want to, but there're problems. Eddy will no doubt try to secretly take something valuable out of a shipment with the Tennysons' name on it and he has access to who calls are made to. Since Sector V does normal business with the Cul-de-Sac, Eddy won't find this device or get suspicious if I sent it to you. Then you can forward it to Ben or just show it to him through holographic communication lines since he normally stays in touch with you, right?"

"Well, yeah, but that's only because we're buddies on Super Sumo Slammers Online . . ."


	19. LOCATOR

**Chapter 19 – LOCATOR**

**Author Notes:**

- I'm not that good with money so sorry if anything that has to do with it in the story seems awkward or strange. I'm trying to make it similar to Japan's yen prices which would explain the large numbers

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><p>Morning came as Kyle awoke to notice a small brown box by his bed along with a note attached to it. The note was written on official Dexlab parchment. Its top half was typed in fine print while the other half was handwritten, indicating two different people.<p>

_Thank you for letting me analyze and extract data from your Buttercup Nano. I must say, she was resistant at first, but calmed down when she realized the procedure was painless. Anyway, I've sent her back in this box. I shall be eager to see you again. – Dexter, boy genius_

_Hey, Kyle. Dexter dropped this box off. You were still sleeping so I left the box here. When you're ready, can you come to the lab? I have an important assignment for you. – Numbuh 2_

Kyle undid the knot which sealed the box together and opened it. His Buttercup Nano immediately burst out, happy to finally be restricted to such a tiny space. It quickly disappeared into Kyle's Nanocom, eager to return to its home. Kyle laughed a little at the sight and then left for Numbuh 2's laboratory. He found the scientist deeply studying a round device on his lab table.

"What's that?" Kyle asked as he walked inside.

"Oh, there you are." Numbuh 2 said. "I need you to go to the Cul-de-Sac and get something for me."

"Eddy?"

"No. I need you to find a guy named Edd, but ask around for 'Double D' since almost everybody calls him by that name. I got this thing from him yesterday, but he just called saying he found more parts that could go with this thing. Mind going for me? I still need to ask someone what exactly this thing is and it'll take a while. You personally going will save time in getting those parts here."

"Sure, I'll go, but what does Double D look like? Just so I can know who to talk to."

"He usually wears an orange-yellow shirt and purple-ish shorts. What'll stand out is that he wears a sock-hat on his head."

"He's bald?"

"Um . . . it's a secret. I promised not to tell. Sorry."

"Heh. Alright then, I'm off."

Kyle arranged for a SCAMPER flight to Peach Creek. Upon arrival, Kyle surveyed the area. He noticed the Great Machine wasn't behind Eddy's throne anymore. Remembering his conversation with Sherri in the future, he assumed it was located in Townsville now. Kyle saw Eddy was still his old self by bossing other people around, especially his own workers. Aside from those details, everything remained relatively the same. Done reminiscing, Kyle continued to look for Edd. After wandering for some time, Kyle found someone who matched the description of him working on a contraption near a house in the center of the Cul-de-Sac.

"Your name's Double D?" Kyle asked.

"Hm? Oh, hello there. Technically, my name's Edd, but not many people use it to avoid confusion with another friend of mine. Anyway, yes, I'm Double D. And who might you be?"

"My name's Kyle. Numbuh 2 told me you have some more parts for a machine you gave him."

"Oh, yes. Follow me. I kept them in one of our storage vaults."

Edd led Kyle to the marketplace section of the Cul-de-Sac. Once there, they noticed a large commotion at the throne. Groups of people were gathering over there.

"What's going on?" Kyle asked.

"No idea." Edd replied. "C'mon, we should make sure what's going on. Maybe something important has happened."

The two approached the crowd. Edd managed to clear a way through the people due to his status in the Cul-de-Sac. Once past the crowd, they found Eddy arguing with some of the bystanders. Urban Rangers acted as security, prevent civilians from advancing further.

"Eddy, what in the world is going on here?" Edd asked.

"Some of those 'punks' are asking us if they can enter." he replied.

"You mean the Candy Pirates? C'mon, Eddy. If _they're_ the ones asking _us_ then we should let them in. Why are they here though?"

"They say they have some injured guy and wanted one of our doctor guys to check on him. We need to agree on a price."

"Eddy! If someone's injured, hurry and let them in!"

"Fine." Eddy whined. "Let them in, boys!"

The fortress gates opened to reveal a small group of Candy Pirates. Kyle recognized Brock among them as they came inside; he was leading them but no longer had the captain's hat. Behind the group, two of the members were carrying a small hammock with an unconscious boy on it. He was blonde and wore a red and white striped shirt with light blue pants. Everyone took noticed of his sailor hat, assuming he was one of the pirates. He was also young so many people were confused as to why he was out there and got injured.

Brock stepped forward when the group stood in front of the throne. Eddy sat there with a bored expression. It was obvious he didn't like dealing the Candy Pirates.

"Eddy." Brock said in an annoyed tone.

"Brock." Eddy replied.

"Thanks for letting us in. Now about this unconscious boy . . ."

"What happened?" Edd asked as he kneeled down next to the boy.

"We were celebrating that we found some buried treasure when one of our lookouts found this little guy washed up on shore."

"He's not one of you?"

"We assumed that, but can't be for sure. The lad seems to be from Stormalong Harbor so we contacted our division over there if they lost one of their members."

"And?"

"No response. Even our messenger didn't come back."

"That's terrible! So he's a survivor?"

"For now, it looks like. We'll just have to wait until he wakes up. We wanted to bring him here since he's a young one and we don't want him to be scared when he woke up."

"Thanks. We appreciate it. Anything else we should know about him?"

"No, I don't think so. Just that he be from Stormalong . . . Oh, wait! Jane said that when we found, he was moaning something. She couldn't make out what he was saying, but she said it sounded close to 'Knuckles' and 'Buddy'. I hope that'll help later."

"I see. Well, thanks a lot for your trouble. Would you like some of our candy supply?"

"Sockhead, what are you doing!" Eddy exclaimed.

"Eddy, they helped an injured young boy! It's the least we could do."

". . . Fine! Whatever! Go on and take it."

"Excellent. Gentlemen, if you would follow me. Oh Kyle, meet me at the Morbucks Savings and Loans stand. I'll be there once I'm finished with these guys."

Edd led the Candy Pirates away to the candy storage vaults. The crowd was beginning to disperse as everyone returned to what they were originally doing.

"So your name's Kyle, huh?" Eddy asked

"Yeah." Kyle replied. "Why?"

"Sounds familiar. Have we met before?"

"Sort of."

"I see. Well just don't mess with me and we'll get along just fine."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Kyle walked around the marketplace section, looking for the Morbucks Savings and Loans stand Edd had told him about. He found it easily in the southeast set of stands. All buildings and stands belonging to the bank had the same rectangular sign on it. It was red in color and the bank's name written in a fancy font along with a cartoonish version of the founder's daughter, Princess Morbucks. The stand was run by a male, dark-skinned Urban Ranger. He claimed to be a distant relative of the Morbucks family which is why he ran the stand.

Since he was here, Kyle decided to check and access his account through the terminals inside. He was surprised to find one million Taros tied to it. He remembered Computress telling him about Taros being forwarded into bank account in the future timeline, but Kyle assumed all of those were gone now that he was back in the present. In his item storage, Kyle found a note from his Dexter.

_Greetings, Kyle. Dexter has informed me that there were records of you having 100,000 Taros in the data he acquired from your Nanocom. I've taken the liberty of adding that amount to your current account. Dexter also donated another 900,000 as well so you probably won't have to worry about running low on funds. Taros will still be forwarded to this account when we et word of your achievements – Thanks for your time, Computress_

Kyle couldn't really believe the amount. It was enough to fully buy a regular house. He couldn't decide what he would do with the money aside from the necessities. He put those thoughts aside when he noticed Edd coming towards.

"There you are." Edd said to him. "The vault is this way. Follow me."

The two crossed over to the other side of the marketplace area. They approached a rather large storage vault. Unlike the cardboard buildings in the Cul-de-Sac, this was a large, heavy, steel-enforced structure. Kyle noticed the strange creature standing by it. It was tall, about twice his size. It was red and had a small body, but extremely long limbs made up for it. A large portion of one arm was missing. Stitches showed where it was once connected. The head had two eye stalks, one appeared to be crooked like something had fallen on it, and the sides were similar to whiskers. The main noticeable feature for Kyle was the number "1" printed on the chest.

"Hey, Double D." it said. "Who's this guy?"

"This is Kyle. Kyle, this is Wilt, an Imaginary Friend. Don't worry. He's practically the nicest guy in the world."

"Am I bothering something?" Wilt asked.

"Oh, no. I was just explaining things to Kyle here. I think this is his first time meeting an Imaginary Friend."

"No, I've met another Imaginary Friend before." Kyle corrected him. "His name was Eduardo."

"Oh, you know Edurado?" Wilt asked. "Lovable big guy, right? He's my roommate over at Foster's. Drop by anytime you feel like. Any friend of Eduardo's is a friend of mine."

"Thanks. I will."

"Thanks for filling in for the person who's usually on duty here, Wilt." Edd told him. "Can you get the box with mine and Numbuh 2's name on it?"

"No problem," Wilt replied. "I don't mind filling in. Especially for someone who caught the chickenpox. Hold on, I'll be right back."

Wilt entered the temporary access code he was given in the vault's keypad. The locks automatically undid themselves and the door opened. Wilt went inside for a few minutes and came out with the box. It was mostly filled with random parts, but the similar designs showed that they went together.

"This is it?" Wilt asked.

"Yup, thank you." Edd replied.

Edd handed the box to Kyle who then put it in his Nanocom's storage.

"Careful with these, Kyle. They're delicate."

"Thanks. I'll make sure these get to Numbuh 2."

* * *

><p>"Did your Grandpa Max find anything?" Numbuh 2 asked.<p>

Numbuh 2 was on a holographic communication line with Ben Tennyson. The teenage hero was currently in the small spaceport town located near the outskirts of Townsville. The town's name was Nebula, but a lot of people liked to refer to the town as Offworld Plaza due to a lot alien activity and the outer space-related events that often take place there.

"Grandpa Max said it's an old kind of locating device." Ben replied.

"It doesn't look old." he remarked.

"Well, not to humans. It's really outdated to alien civilizations, but it should be equal or near to Aetas' technology level."

"Sorry for suddenly hijacking this communication line." Dexter interrupted. "Did you say you come across an alien tracking device?"

"You really need to give people some privacy, Dex."

"How many calls have to eavesdropped on now?" Numbuh 2 added.

"The tracking device?" Dexter repeated.

"Avoiding the question like always . . ." Ben remarked. "Anyway, Grandpa Max said the tracking device should be a powerful one if someone manages to fix it. You wanna do it?"

"I'm afraid I'm far too busy with other matters. Max cannot do it?"

"He's busy with Townsville Park. Have you seen that place? It's a huge mess. It'll take forever to fix that place."

"Yeah, I heard Numbuh 1 complain once or twice last time he came to check up on us." Numbuh 2 added.

"Well, I'm definitely not trusting Mandark with it." Dexter said confidently. "Mojo is too suspicious and Vilgax is a definite no."

"Dexter. I still have the actual thing with me. I can fix it up."

"Will 2x4 technology even be compatible with the tracking device? I mean that since it's different from our regular technology."

"Just give me directions on how to fix. I know how to work with non 2x4 tech stuff."

"Grandpa Max did mention 2x4 tech could work." Ben informed them. "After all, there is the Galactic KND and he said they've made hybrid weapons using alien tech in a 2x4-like fashion before."

"Great. I'll get to work on it right away. Kyle should be back with the remaining parts very soon."

"That's the kid from the future Mandark told us about, right? He sounds familiar to me."

"I know what you mean. I got that same feeling when I saw him."

"Reakky? That's weird. Anyway, we're still up for that team death match on Super Sumo Slammers tomorrow, right?"

"You bet I am! Rex and Zak are going down!"

"Honestly," Dexter moaned, "you people are still interested in online gaming?"

"Hey, don't knock it till you try it." Ben responded. "You know, Dex, I hear that they're coming out with a playable Major Glory cameo fighter next week. You interested in playing now? C'mon, at least do something other than spend your free time experimenting in your lab."

". . .Well, Numbuh 2. I expect that device to be finished as soon as possible. It'll be beneficial for that recent problem of ours. Goodbye."

Dexter immediately disconnected as Ben sighed.

"Alright then, see ya later, Numbuh 2."

Ben disconnected from the conversation as well. Numbuh 2 placed the device on the lab table and began studying it, trying to figure out where to start repairing it. It was clear that he would need the missing parts before the actual process could begin. After a few minutes, Kyle walked inside the laboratory. He handed the box of missing parts to Numbuh 2. The scientist began rifling through the contents and immediately went to work.

"Good work." he told him.

"So did you find out what this thing is?" Kyle asked.

"It's a tracking device. Dexter wants me to fix it up now."

"That's useful. Any idea what you're calling it?"

"Well, it isn't 2x4 tech, but I'll just settle for giving it the codename, LOCATOR, for easy remembering."

"Anyway, that's all the work you need done, right?"

"Everything's pretty much covered right now. You pretty much have free time to do whatever you want now."

* * *

><p>"Fusion Blossom was taken out?"<p>

"Affirmative. I apologize for being unable to be alerted of the intruders' presence in time."

"Your operation is still going strong though, right?"

"Correct. There are minor suspicions among these beings, but it appears no action is being taken to investigate them any further."

"Good. As long as you're still going then not all is lost in Pokey Oaks. How did they manage find her in time anyway? I thought we stirred up plenty of serious ruckus to make sure none of their forces had time to investigate."

"It appears that they sent a lone man to investigate the cause. He alerted the Powerpuff Girl, Blossom, and together, they infiltrated her lair. A positive outcome was that we were able to recover the sugar samples. The spice and everything nice was unfortunately destroyed the girl's heat vision."

"We can always find more of them anywhere on this planet. Any idea where that fourth ingredient is yet?"

"Negative. There wasn't a hint or clue to where it was stored when we broke into Utonium's lab."

"If no leads turn up in our operations in Peach Creek, then begin focusing intel on Genius Grove, Endsville, and Habitat."

"Understood."


	20. Technical Difficulties

**Chapter 20 – Technical Difficulties**

**Author Notes: **

- using US army ranks to classify Fusions' positions and status

- I made up "Systemtia" ("Systemtor" being the main adjective form), but just consider it an OC Ben 10 alien species. It would've used the series' Nalijian species, but I didn't want to mess with it since their technology is apparently supposed to be beyond (human) understanding

* * *

><p>Kyle was lying on a bench shaded by a gazebo next to it in Pokey Oaks Park. Numbuh 2 was busy working on fixing the LOCATOR and had no other free assignments that Kyle could do sohe let him have free time for the moment. Kyle decided to use it for some alone time. The park itself was right in the center of Pokey Oaks. Kyle couldn't visit it in the future timeline as it had been destroyed and disfigured by a large fissure. The park wasn't exactly quiet as children still roamed while their parents and guards cautiously protected them, but Kyle still enjoyed the peace. Watching the children play with their friends made him smile and took his mind off things.<p>

"Remind you of your childhood?" Riyos asked.

"Yeah, until you took it away." Kyle replied somewhat angrily.

"So you will not change your mind even after I told I was only looking out for my existence?"

Kyle just remained silent.

"Hmph. I am able to read your thoughts. I know what your answer is."

Kyle's Nanocom suddenly began ringing from his pocket. Riyos severed his mental link with Kyle for now. He knew Kyle didn't want to speak with him at the moment.

"Hello?"

"He, Kyle. It's me, Double D. Numbuh 2 gave me your Nanocom's contact information."

"Hey. What do you need?"

"Remember the unconscious boy from the other day? It looks like he's starting to wake up. I was wondering you could see him. He had something that might interest you."

"Uh, sure. I'll head over there now."

Kyle took a SCAMPER flight and arrived at the Cul-de-Sac faster than he expected. Edd seemed to have told the pilot to fly as fast as possible. Upon exiting the ship, Kyle spotted a large medical tent with a few people gathered outside. He tried to get in and argued, but the guard denied admission. Edd soon came out, hearing Kyle's voice and let him inside. The injured little boy from before was now sitting on the bed, drinking some hot chocolate with a yellow blanket over his shoulders. He was in a daze, staring blindly at his drink.

"Who is he?" Kyle asked Edd.

"His name is Flapjack and Brock was correct. He's from Stormalong." he replied.

Stormalong was a seaport town in the middle the southern ocean. It was built entirely on planks held up by wooden supports, basically one giant boardwalk in a way. Being a seaport town in the middle of the ocean, it was obvious that it would be a popular and widely used stop for ships. The town also had a small reputation for being home to some strange and weird people so not many people went there for tourism. This was briefly forgotten when some people realized that Fuse's invasion had not affected the town due to its location being isolated from any of the continents.

"So when you said 'survivor'," Kyle began, "you mean it was destroyed?"

"We thought that, but we finally got into contact with some of the town's residents. Apparently, Fuse found out that the town had avoided his detection all this time. In response, he sent a swarm of his terrafusers to devastate Stormalong. Miraculously, the supports holding up the town were left unharmed or minimally damaged. The residents told us they're fine, but the place is a mess. They've already got an Infected As for what's left, they're working to rebuild it."

"And this little guy?"

"Flapjack was one of the people trying to get to safety. He told us he was trying to escape with his friends, Bubbie and Captain K'nuckles. He got separated from them, but he managed to escape on a lifeboat. Unfortunately, a Fusion monster taking the form of a sea serpent appeared and attacked his boat. Flapjack survived and was able to cling onto a floating piece of the lifeboat until he finally fell unconscious. This is where we get to the point where the Candy Pirates found him drifting towards Candy Cove's shores."

"Weird name for a boy, but I'm glad he's okay. So what did say about this 'thing of interest'?"

"Oh, yes. He was in the possession of this."

Edd showed Kyle an old, semi-wet treasure map from his back pocket. It was strange how the ink and the parchment itself seemed perfectly intact despite being submerged in water for a long period of time.

"What is this?" Kyle asked.

"I'm not quite sure. I've never seen anything like this. One of our scientists here says the map is made out of normal materials, but he couldn't figure out why it remained undamaged. Flapjack said we could have it because he found it drifting in the ocean."

Kyle looked at Flapjack who was still in a slump. He knew the expression of the little boy's face too well; the one of thinking you lost some of your closest friends. Kyle kneeled down until he was at eye level with Flapajack.

"Hey, Flapjack. My name's Kyle. Is there anything I can do to make things a little better?"

"Um, well . . . can I have some candy?" he asked.

"I'm not sure because of your condition, but . . . Double D?"

"I don't see any problems with it," Edd replied, "but I'm afraid we don't have an extra candy supplies to give due to rewarding the Candy Pirates for rescuing Flapjack here. But if you insist on getting him that candy, you should ask Wilt. Foster's is a major buyer of candy from us. Any Imaginary Friend must have big sweet tooth, apparently."

"Sit tight." Kyle told Flapjack. "I'll be back as fast as I can."

Kyle left the tent and began looking for Wilt. He tried the storage vault Wilt was guarding the previous day, but it was now being protected by an Urban Ranger.

"Why are you helping the boy?" Riyos asked. "He has nothing important to offer you."

"He reminds of me of my younger self a little." Kyle replied.

"Heh. As expected."

Kyle soon spotted Wilt next to the throne, speaking to Eddy about something. He seemed to be trying to calm down the self-proclaimed king.

"Hey, Wilt!" Kyle exclaimed. "Sorry for interrupting, but I need to ask you something."

"Kyle? Sure. What's up?"

"It might sound strange, but does Foster's have any extra candy? There's someone I know that needs some."

"I was just talking to Wilt about it." Eddy told him.

"Yeah, the last shipment to the house never arrived." Wilt informed Kyle. "The guy who was delivering the candy said he was ambushed by a Fusion just outside the gates."

"I'm piping mad about this! Do you know how much dough this is going to cost me considering how huge that shipment was!"

"C'mon, Eddy. If we work fast enough, then maybe we can find it in time."

"I already sent Urban Rangers all over Peach Creek! We couldn't find anything!"

"Why not try searching Pokey Oaks?"

"I would, but I only have control of the Peach Creek troop. I need Rolf's permission if I want to use another town's troop and you know how much he trusts me. If we only had something that could find them . . ."

Kyle immediately thought of an idea. He took a flight to Pokey Oaks and called Numbuh 2 once he arrived.

"Numbuh 2. How's the tracking device coming along?"

"Kyle? I've managed to put the missing parts together, but at its best right now, I can only find something within a ten-mile radius."

"Perfect. Do you think you can find a Fusion Portal in Pokey Oaks? It's for something important."

"You're taking on a Fusion alone? Uh, nevermind. Anyway, this could be a good test run. Hold on. I'm starting it up."

Kyle could hear Numbuh 2 pressing buttons in the background. It seemed to be going well until Kyle heard sparks flying and unexpected loud noises. He could also hear Numbuh 2 in a coughing fit.

"Did something go wrong?" Kyle asked. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. The LOCATOR just shorted out. Looks like there're still some bugs to work out."

"So I'll just have to keep searching huh?"

"No, the LOCATOR managed to find a portal before it shorted out. The entrance is in the Infected Zone. The Fusion Portal looks like it's somewhere in the parking lot. Careful of the Mean Behemoths you might see. They like to makes homes out of cars for some reason."

Kyle headed towards the Infected Zone and went inside. The parking lot was on western part of the school grounds. He couldn't spot the Fusion Portal in the parking lot like Numbuh 2 had said due to the number of Mean Behemoths and piled vehicles blocking much of the view. The creatures were quite large, about the size of two cars stacked on top of each other or more. They looked like they were made out of telephone poles and other metallic materials and had spikes covering their backs. Although, they acted more primitive and monkey-like than what their name implied.

Kyle tried to scour for a safe path around them. He then suddenly heard metal clanking and heavy breathing behind him. Hesitantly, he turned around to gaze upon one of the behemoths with a menacing look on its face. The space Kyle had was too small to defeat the creature. Kyle had no choice but to run and try to reach safety. The Mean Behemoth roared a loud warning call, signaling the others of Kyle's presence. Kyle was now being pursued by a group of about six or seven, but he didn't have enough time to count how many were chasing him. Shooting them with his rifle proved ineffective and there were too many to handle if he used a sword. Kyle tried losing the creatures in the creature's maze. It barely helped as the creatures were knocking the structures down, throwing them in the air, and climbing over structures. Kyle was eventually cornered at a dead end. He turned to see the entire group of Mean Behemoth charging at him. He tried to counterattack, but it was too late. One of the Mean Behemoth knocked him in the air and sent him flying a few feet. The other nearby Mean Behemoths gave chase to the relative location of where he landed. When they arrived, Kyle was gone.

He tried to hold it in and keep quiet, but wasn't able to do it. Kyle was coughing, trying to regain his breath. The attack he received luckily made him land on a Fusion Portal, teleporting him underground the moment he touched one of the tentacles. The process managed to break and minimize the damage he would've received from the fall. Once he recovered, Kyle quickly hid behind a group of large stalagmites. He waited for a few minutes to make sure none of the Mean Behemoths followed him inside. Thankfully, not a single one showed. After looking around, Kyle realized the small chamber he was in had no way out besides the Fusion Portal he came through. But, he knew there was more to the lair. He could hear the distant voice of someone speaking. Behind him, Kyle noticed some footholds he could use to climb the walls and get a better view. Slowly, he climbed the wall, trying to make minimal noise to not alert anyone of his presence. Like he suspected, there was a network of connected paths. Kyle decided to stay above as he realized there was enough stable rock to hold him as he progressed further.

After a quarter hour of finding dead end, Kyle finally traced the source of the noises he heard. He finally the final chamber of the lair and saw the Fusion guarding enormous piles of candy. It was Wilt's Fusion, but was different from the other five Kyle had faced. Unlike the real Wilt, this one was semi-robotic like a cyborg. Pieces of red-plating armor covered random parts of his body though a majority of his Fusion Matter skin was still visible. Replacing the missing arm was a mechanical cannon; it looked alien-like in origin and his broken eye stalk was also replaced with an operational, robotic one.

Fusion Wilt was dismissing the monsters with him through the exit portal. He then began speaking to the figure on the large monitor he had set up in the lair. The visual was distorted, probably done on purpose, so nobody could make out who it was visually.

"It's still going along smoothly, right?" the figure asked.

"Affirmative." Fusion Wilt replied. "We should be weakening the ammo supply of the Kids Next Door and Candy Pirates if we continue."

"Good. Continue what you're doing for now. We have another job for you later."

"Shall I dispose of this candy?"

"No. We still need it for research purposes."

Kyle stepped back to get a better hold where he was standing, but accidentally knocked some rocks down with his foot. Hearing the noise, Fusion Wilt immediately turned around and shot a laser from his arm-cannon in Kyle's direction. The laser destroyed the rock below Kyle causing him to fall into the chamber.

"Intruder detected." Fusion Wilt stated as he walked over to the rubble.

The Fusion cleared the dust cloud with his regular arm. He then bent over, cleared the debris, and picked up Kyle by the collar of his shirt.

"You're the one who caused Fusion Blossom's defeat." the Fusion said.

"So this is the guy, huh?" the figure asked. Pretty good for defeating one of our Lieutenant Generals, but you did have help from her counterpart so I'm not that surprised. I'll leave this guy to you, Wilt."

The figure severed the connection as the monitor turned off.

"Your chance of escaping if low." the Fusion stated. "Adding defeating me to the process also makes that even more unlikely. Any last words?"

Kyle remained silent, trying to pull apart the Fusion's grip. Fusion Wilt began to charge his arm-cannon. It seemed like the end. The Fusion would only stop him before Kyle's sword finished materializing his.

Just before the cannon fired, Fusion Wilt was knocked over by a flying object and dropped Kyle in the process. The cannon, now misaligned, fired a laser and hit the chamber's ceiling, causing some large rocks to fall towards the two. Fusion Wilt ran back while Kyle tried to shield himself, but was quickly pulled aside by someone. The Fusion was utterly confused. He had been struck heavily by a basketball. Kyle looked up to see his savior, Wilt.

"Wilt?" Kyle asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, after I thought about it," Wilt replied, "I felt guilty for letting you go alone so I followed you. Just in time too. Looks like you were about to get blown to pieces there. Sorry I couldn't come sooner, let alone tell you that my Fusion was a cyborg."

"It's okay. Now we just have to take care of this guy."

"I didn't calculate _you_ to show up." Fusion Wilt said. "No matter, I'll just have to eliminate both of you personally. You won't be able to escape from this."

Fusion Wilt pointed his cannon at two. To his shock, nothing happened. He began shaking his weapon trying to get it to work. "What the! Why isn't it working! Wait, that's-!"

Fusion Wilt was staring at something on the ground. It was a strange glowing yellow orb. It had just inexplicably appeared out of nowhere. The orb was glowing brighter than before and giving off electrical sparks.

"Where did you get that Systemtor Disturber!" Fusion Wilt exclaimed. "They're only made on a planet light-years from here!"

Fusion Wilt tried to approaching the disturber, but the radiating light was blinding him, even the robotic one. The dozens of sparks prevented him from getting any closer. He began panicking when he noticed his arm cannon overloading with energy.

"What's happening?" Kyle wondered aloud.

"I don't know, but we better take cover, quick!" Wilt exclaimed.

Wilt quickly grabbed Kyle's arm and pulled him towards a passageway where they took cover. Fusion Wilt was desperately trying to remove his cannon, banging on it as his last resort to knock it off. A blinding light filled the room, and in a flash, an explosion consumed the Fusion.

When the room was clear, Kyle and Wilt came out of their hiding place and head back to the site. The explosion was fortunately not enough to cause the cavern to collapse on itself. Just like before, Kyle witnessed Fusion Wilt's remains form a puddle of Fusion Matter. Knowing what to do, he took aimed his Nanocom and created another Nano, Wilt. His powers were listed as "Crazy Air", "Zone Defense", and "Nothing But Net".

"Well that takes care of that." Kyle said.

He saw the Systemtor Disturber was now a plain, dull orb. He picked it up and placed it in his Nanocom's storage banks. Before he did so, he found a piece of paper taped to it with a message on it.

_I thought this would prove useful so put it in your pocket without you noticing. Good luck! – Professor Paradox_

"Geez, this guy really needs to stop being so mysterious." Kyle remarked. "Anyway, Wilt, what should we do with this candy?"

"Just take as much as possible." Wilt replied. "This place'll disappear once we leave anyway. I think Fuse was planning on tricking gullible kids with this stuff. The Kids Next Door and Candy Pirates also used this as ammo and for building weapons. By the way, I'm sorry for getting you into this mess."

"You don't have to apologize. I owe you for saving me. I would've been good as dead if you didn't show up."

"Alright, buddy. C'mon, put as much as you can of this candy in your Nanocom until it's full. I'll see what else I can take."

Kyle nodded as he digitized the piles of candy into his Nanocom. Surprisingly, it was able to entirely fit into the Nanocom's storage banks. Even though there was the one hundred item slot limit, the candy was still grouped into one slot. Kyle was wondering just how much the Nanocom could truly hold.

* * *

><p>"You found one of the maps?"<p>

"Yes, but it's in their damn cardboard fortress. We wouldn't last a second inside there even if we did disguise ourselves. You know what that place is infused with . . ."

"Simply wait for an opportunity to steal it from them. There's no doubt _somebody_ will try to hunt down what those maps lead to."

"I understand."

"And don't fail this one. Our operations in Pokey Oaks have been completely ruined! I can't believe that kid took out Wilt . . ."

"It was merely dumb luck. He had a Systemtor Disturber and Wilt basically blew himself up."

"But where exactly did he get it? We blocked interplanetary travel and the planet is light-years from here. These humans' normal spaceships shouldn't be able to reach it even if they did somehow avoid out detection."

"Perhaps a Systemtian, maybe more, is hiding somewhere on this planet."

"Maybe . . . Anyway, it's two operations failed in succession. Fuse isn't gonna like it if it turns into three in a row . . ."

"Relax. You know I'm more competent than Wilt. After all, we're both Elites."


	21. Kankers

**Chapter 21 – Kankers**

**Author Notes:**

**- **need confirmation. Did _The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack_ ever give the ocean (not the seas like "Sea of Teeth") a proper name?

* * *

><p>"Thanks so much for the candy!" Flapjack exclaimed.<p>

"Heh. No problem, Flapjack." Kyle replied.

Flapjack was happily munching on a large chocolate bar. The enthusiasm in his voice and his happy expression reminded Kyle even more about his younger self.

"So what are you going to do now?" Kyle asked.

"I don't know. I want go look for Cap'n K'nuckles and Bubbie, but I don't know where to start . . ."

"By yourself? You should at least have some people with you."

"Okay. What about you?"

Kyle wanted to help, but he knew he had to decline since there were still plenty of tasks that would come up and require his assistance.

"Sorry," he said, "but I still have lots of work to do here."

"Um, Flapjack." Edd interrupted. "If you don't mind, some of the KND agents around here would be more than happy to take you along to their trip to Mount Blackhead. Based on the currents and location when you and your friends were that day, I've calculated that they should have been set on a course for the waters near the northeastern wilderness. There's a river near Mount Blackhead that flows right into the ocean. Just make sure to stay with the group, alright?"

"Well, I guess that settles it." Kyle said. "Good luck finding your friends Flapjack."

"Thanks, Kyle!"

Flapjack quickly got on his feet. He rushed outside with a backpack of supplies Edd had given him and ran towards the group of KND operatives across the street. Just after he left, Eddy came storming into the medical tent.

"Sockhead!" he exclaimed. "We need to set some rules about givin' away our supplies like that! That's like what, the tenth time this week?"

"Oh, Eddy." Edd responded. "You're just over exaggerating."

"Whatever. Just don't do it again or at least try to do it less often, okay? We're gonna end up broke if you keep up this little charity of yours."

After his short rant, Eddy promptly exited the tent and headed back to his throne to settle his unfinished duties.

"Geez, is he always like that?" Kyle asked.

"Oh don't worry about him." Edd replied. "He does that to almost everybody."

"I see . . . Anyway, I might as well get go-"

"Oh wait, Kyle. If you don't mind, are you interested in a little treasure hunting?"

"You mean the map that Flapjack had?"

"Yes. I'm quite curious to what this map leads to and it conveniently indicates the treasure's right here in Peach Creek so it should be very easy. Let me see your map for a minute. I'll put a waypoint that you can follow."

Kyle did as instructed and showed Edd his holographic map. It displayed the layout of the entire town as well as its outskirts. Edd carefully studied the treasure map for a half a minute and then placed a digital red marker on Kyle's map in the northeastern forest area. It wasn't an exact spot, but a relative location of where the treasure was. Edd also handed Kyle a spare shovel.

"Just look for anything odd or out of the ordinary." Edd told him. "If you can't find anything, then feel free to return."

"Thanks. I'm off."

Kyle exited the tent and Cul-de-Sac gates. Upon exiting, he followed a nature trail to his right. It didn't go into the woods, mainly circled the Cul-de-Sac until it reached the northern entrance to a small park right beside the fortress. Kyle followed the waypoint eastward until he reached the park and then went northeast. He soon came to a creek, the one the town was name after. It flowed southward so it must've emptied into Candy Cove and essentially the Stormalong Ocean.

"This little treasure hunt reminds of that day, huh?" Riyos asked.

"You don't have to keep reminding me." Kyle replied.

The creek was too deep to cross on foot, but there was an old wooden bridge that Kyle used to cross. He then continued inside the forest where the treasure was located. It was relatively quiet aside from the noises Kyle made when he moved branches and other plants out of the way. Unknown to Kyle, a small group of shadows were silently following him, hiding in the trees, their red eyes watching his every move.

Kyle was reaching the designated location when he came to a small clearing with sunlight brightly shining down. Right in the center, he saw a huge red "X" on the ground. He truly didn't expect one like what one would see on a television show, but he went to work. Kyle brought out Edd's shovel from his Nanocom storage and proceeded to tunnel into the earth. After a few minutes of digging, the shovel collided with something metal. Unearthing the remaining dirt, Kyle came across a treasure chest. It was strange that the key was still in the lock, as if the person forgot to remove it. Carefully opening it in case of booby traps, he discovered nothing but candy though they were wrapped entirely in purple wrappers with strange markings.

"What the? Must be the Candy Pirates' . . ."

Kyle then heard the leaves rustling behind. He pulled out his rifle, ready to make a break for it in case it was a pack of Fuse's monsters. Before he could react, Kyle suddenly received a hard blow to the back of his head that caused him to fall on the ground unconscious. Before he blanked out, Kyle witnessed the shadowy figures descend from the trees, grab the treasure chest, and flee almost as if they teleported.

"Ninjas? . . . ugh . . ."

* * *

><p>Kyle was dreaming of the event happening again. Although this time, the mood was much gloomier than before. It was nighttime and he could see the menacing red eyes hidden in the trees. He received the blow on the back once again, but this time it felt much harder than before which promptly made him wake up from shock and sit up.<p>

His back still hurt, but Kyle had found his head bandaged up. He looked around, confused. He was lying on a couch inside a mobile trailer. He could see the place was in a sloppy mess. Kyle could see some women's clothing scattered across the parts of the trailer that were visible too him. The smell of ketchup and aged food filled the air.

It was already morning of the next day. Kyle had been unconscious for hours. Soon, he immediately noticed his Nanocom was missing along with all of his other belongings. Before he could get up to search for them, the trailer's front door promptly opened. A red-headed woman with curly hair came inside. He couldn't even see her eyes; her hair was blocking them. She wore a white tank top and blue jeans. She noticed Kyle was awake and grinned as she was walking towards him.

"So ya finally awake, huh?" she asked.

"Uh, where am I?" Kyle asked back.

"You're at Park 'n' Flush trailer park. I saw those guys leave the forest and went to see what was up. You've got a lot of guts goin' in there, I mean it's Newsprint Ninja territory there. Good thing they just left ya there instead of taking you along. Who knows what coulda happened to ya. By the way, hope your head's okay. We ain't medical technicians."

"We?"

"Oh yeah, hold on. Let me get my sister. Marie! Get your lazy ass over here! Our guest's awake!"

"I'm comin', I'm comin'!" a voice exclaimed outside. "Geez, you don't have to yell."

Another female came inside the trailer. Unlike her sister, she had blue hair and her eyes were visible, though her right one was sometimes blocked off by her hair depending on the view one had of her. She wore a black tank top and green pants. Just like her sister, she grinned at Kyle as well.

"Oh, you're cute." she said in a seductive tone. "So you're the boy Lee found in the woods. Can't believe you went into those ninjas' territory."

"It would've been nice if Double D told me." Kyle mumbled.

"Hm? You know my little pumpkin? Interesting . . . Lee."

Marie whispered something into Lee's ear, but Kyle couldn't make out what she was saying. Lee was just smiling to whatever her sister was telling her.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking," Kyle said, "did you find something like a watch when you found me?"

"Oh, you mean this." Marie responded.

She held Kyle's Nanocom in her hands as she browsed through its contents.

"Six Nanos, huh? Impressive bunch you've got, even Buttercup's and Blossom's. Oh, Lee's so jealous for you having her sweet little Eddy~."

"You mind giving it back?"

"Oh, we will. But you'll have to do something for us before we'll let you have it back and let you go."

Kyle sighed. He didn't really care what he had to do as long as he got the Nanocom back.

"I guess I have no choice then." he said. "What do you want?"

"Nothing that you'd find horrible, really." Marie replied. "I just need you to help me build something. Follow me."

Kyle got up and followed the girl outside. The trailer was right near the entrance to the trailer park. It was located across the creek. He could see the towers of the Cul-de-Sac fortress just above the trees. Around him, Kyle saw the rest of the trailer park to be relatively empty. There were still many other trailers, but they seemed abandoned. It looked like Lee and Marie were the only people still living there.

Kyle continued following Marie as she led him up a hill just outside the trailer park.

"Mind filling me in?" Kyle asked.

"We're the Kankers." she replied. "It's me, her, and my other dumb sister, May. She's not here right now though. She went off to go chase her runaway boyfriend in the Wilderness and hasn't been back since."

"And you're not worried about her? She could be dead for you know."

"Oh, please. She's a Kanker. She can take care of herself. Anyway, you're gonna help me with this."

The two came to the top of hill where they saw a giant wooden structure. It was painted and shaped to look like a giant hamburger. It was somewhere near halfway finished on the outside. The inside was completely empty aside from a few buckets of paint and large brushes. Other building materials were lying all over the patty which acted as a porch.

"What's this thing for?" Kyle asked.

"My little project." Marie replied. "Ever since this stupid alien invasion, the Eds built that cardboard fortress and they won't let us in so I started making this. Once it's done, we'll use it as a 'gift' for the Eds. By the way, tell them about _any_ of this and we'll hunt you down till you breathed your last."

"Sure, whatever. Let's get started already."

"Just finish up this section of the wall and I'll let you go. I would've made you finish the whole thing, but I'm in a good mood today so just hurry up."

Kyle sighed and began to work by nailing wooden boards into place. His back injury was still causing him minor pain, but he learned to deal with it. After few hours of labor, he finished his section of the wall. Marie was impressed, evident by her smile. She liked the accuracy and how much detail Kyle put into his painting. Marie considered forcing him to do the same to the rest of the structure, but she was a person true to her word so she handed Kyle's Nanocom back to him..

"Alright, a deal's a deal." she said. "Here's your Nanocom back. Don't worry. I didn't snoop through anything else besides your Nanos. Follow the nature trail just outside the trailer park and you should be back at the Cul-de-Sac in no time.

"Thanks. And um . . . thanks again for saving me."

"Yeah, yeah. Just get out of here before I change my mind and send Lee after ya."

Kyle followed the path outside the trailer park like Marie had instructed. Soon, he was back at the Cul-de-Sac's gates. As he entered, he accidentally knocked into Edd who was running out and two of them fell over.

"Kyle!" Edd exclaimed. "You're okay! Thank goodness! I was almost to send a rescue party for you."

"Why?" he asked.

"You've been gone since yesterday. I sent a search party last night and they found no traces of where you went. I couldn't sleep at all thinking I sent someone to their doom. Then I got an e-mail from you though I could tell it was from the Kankers. It said you were okay, but I just couldn't be sure."

"Relax. I'm fine now. That's all that matters, right?"

"Yes. I supposed so. Anyway, did you find the treasure?"

"Well, I did find a treasure chest, but when I opened it, it was filled with candy. I thought maybe it was the Candy's Pirates' treasure."

"But that's strange. The Candy Pirates are keeping all their treasure with them so they have ammo for their weapons and stock to keep their energy up. If this is their treasure chest, then why didn't they recover it?"

"I don't know. After I found what was inside, a group of people or creatures snuck up behind me, I couldn't tell if they were human, and knocked me out. They just left me there while they took the chest with them. Lee said she saw them leaving the forest. She then came to investigate and found me. I finally woke up just this morning."

"And they let you go that easily?"

"Well, I had to help them with a small thing to get my Nanocom back."

"I guess that will work. I guess they aren't so bad after all. I thought they would do something much worse to you. Anyway, I'm going to assume the people the ambushed you were Fusion monsters. If Fuse was trying to find whatever was inside that treasure chest, it can only mean bad news."

"Should I work on tracking them down? I know a good way-"

"Don't worry about that. Chances are that they already delivered it to their Fusion leader already, whoever he or she is."

"So what now?"

"Just get some rest for now. You should head back to Sector V. Oh, and take this to Numbuh 2 as well."

"What is this?"

"It's a device I found that Dexter requested. He wanted Numbuh 2 to fully examine its condition then give it to Blossom so she could fly it to him."

"Alright. I guess I'll see you later."

* * *

><p>A knock on the front door was heard at Dexter's house in Genius Grove. Dee Dee opened the door to see a man wearing a lab coat. He was tall and had his hair cut to a flat top. Under his lab coat, the man also wore a white shirt and tie and black pants and shoes. This was Professor Utonium, creator and father of the Powerpuff Girls. The look on his face clearly showed he was worried about something.<p>

"Professor?" Dee Dee asked in a confused tone. "What are you doing here? I didn't expect you to be back for a while right now."

"Dee Dee, may I come in?" he asked. "It may not be that serious, but I need to ask you something."


	22. Fair Play

**Chapter 22 – Fair Play**

**Author Notes:**

- Too avoid repitiveness due to the numerous times it'll happen: whenever a Fusion is dies, always assume Kyle makes a Nano (Non-Nano Fusions will be pointed out). I just don't want to keep saying "Kyle made a Nano from…", "From the Fusion Matter puddle", etc. too many times

- Nanos have hammerspace in their pockets. If they don't have pockets, then just assume they pull stuff out of nowhere or it materializes in their hands

* * *

><p>Kyle awoke in his room at the Sector V treehouse. After previously delivering the device to Numbuh 2, he had spent the rest of his free time in Sector V before finally going to bed. He found a note left behind by Numbuh 2 after getting ready for the day.<p>

_Hey, Kyle. I have to leave with Blossom in taking that device to Dexlabs. While I'm gone, I need someone to head on over to Dee Dee's house for some parts. Just tell her my name and she'll know what you mean. – Numbuh 2_

"Déjà vu . . ." Kyle remarked.

Kyle took a SCAMPER to Genius Grove. As he came to Dee Dee's house, Kyle knocked on the front door and accidentally opened it. Curious to see if something happened, he went inside. Kyle immediately found Dee Dee and Professor Utonium talking to each other in the living room.

"Oh. Didn't mean to barge in." Kyle said. "The front door was open so I thought something happened."

"Oh, sorry Dee Dee." Professor Utonium said. "I must've forgotten to close the door properly."

"If you're still busy, I'll just come back late-"

"Oh no, stay. I was going to leave in a little before you showed up. Also convenient as I might as well ask you what I asked Dee Dee."

"Sure." Kyle replied as he sat down in the chair next to the Professor. "What is it?"

"I'm Professor Utonium by the way. Sorry for not introducing myself. Now back to the question. Lately, there've been strange noises people have been reporting from Genius Grove to Peach Creek, most them at night. Have you, by any chance, heard these noises lately?"

"No. I've been staying in Sector V. During that one night I was in Peach Creek, I was sleeping before nightfall came so I couldn't have heard anything. Why do you ask?"

"Well personally, I thought it was the people's imagination at first until last night when I heard them for myself while working overnight in my lab. That's why I came to Dee Dee to see if she has heard anything recently."

"Any idea what's going on?"

"No, but I believe they are coming from an underground source since my lab is in my basement. Whatever was causing it was shaking the entire place. My beakers and test tubes containing dangerous chemicals almost shattered or fell over. I assumed it was the Tech Tunnelers, but they rarely leave the Genius Grove area. There's also the fact that there's no native monster to Pokey Oaks with the ability to dig to our knowledge."

"Were there any other monsters people blamed?"

"A boy living near the Cul-de-Sac claimed that he saw Painsaws tunneling into the earth while he exploring. We didn't believe him at first since it wouldn't make sense to dig with chainsaws, but now it seems like the most logical answer."

"I don't mind checking it out. There's still plenty of time until Numbuh 2 comes back anyway. Do you want me to go?"

"Seeing as you don't mind, please. Just be careful."

"Oh, Dee Dee."

"Hm? What is it?" she asked.

"Numbuh 2 said you had some parts he needed. He wanted me to pick them up."

"Oh yeah. 'Kyle', right? They're over here."

Dee Dee led Kyle to another room of the house. She gave him a box of machine parts. They were all diverse. None of them seemed to go together. Kyle assumed they were just need for some new 2x4 technology hybrids. He kept them in his Nanocom until he would meet Numbuh 2 again.

"Thanks. I'll investigate the Cul-de-Sac now."

Kyle headed to the Cul-de-Sac. Once there, got permission from Edd to one of the guard towers. He spied on the monsters in the woods for any suspicious activity. The only species that lived there were the Painsaws. They were basically motors brought to life. Attached to each of their four arms was a chainsaw. What made them dangerous was that they usually traveled in groups. The trade-off for this was that their armor was extremely weak. One or two shots from any projectile weapon would kill them instantly.

The Painsaws were just wandering around, no strange or unusual patterns in their movement. Kyle took a pair of binoculars from the tower's equipment and gazed into the distance. All seemed normal until he saw a particular group of Painsaws acting suspiciously near the mountain border between Pokey Oaks and Peach Creek. Upon a closer look, they were standing by hole in the ground. Kyle saw a few of them jump into it after another group came out. Their blades were worn and covered with dirt, clearly a result from digging. Kyle immediately called the Professor on his Nanocom.

"I found something." Kyle said. "Near the mountain border in Peach Creek, there's a hole that some Painsaws are jumping in. It looks like that kid was right. They're digging into the earth."

"Interesting." the Professor replied. "We've found a similar hole here in Genius Grove. They may be connected. Dee Dee and I are going to descend to find any clues. I want you to enter from the Peach Creek end and follow wherever it leads. Defeat any of Fuse's minions you may come across."

"Roger."

Kyle descended the tower and headed towards the hole. Arming himself with his rifle, he defeated the Painsaws surrounding the hole and proceeded to enter when the coast was clear. He used the Nanocom's lighting function to illuminate the area around him like a lantern. The tunnel the creatures made was mostly straightforward. There were barely any forks. Even if he came across one, Kyle could see the dead end. He continued to navigate through the twisting pathways using his Numbuh 2 Nano's Fast Feet power. Once he was in the Pokey Oaks underground, Kyle managed to catch up to the group of Painsaws that he saw enter earlier. He quickly eliminated them before they could notice and take a group formation.

Up ahead, Kyle saw flashes of light coming from the next turn. The shadows that were formed appeared to be robots with drills as their arms. He saw the silhouettes of the Professor and Dee Dee combating them with a sort of staff and lasergun respectively. Kyle quickly came to their aid. The robots were Dexter's robots, only corrupted by Fusion Matter. They moved with their tracks like bulldozers with their bodies above them. Both arms had a large drill which they used as weapons. Kyle had seen them before used in construction zones. The Fusion Matter had altered their programming to serve Fuse as well as giving them minds of their own.

Together, the three defeated the rest of the robots. In the aftermath, the Professor and Dee Dee looked exhausted. They must've been fighting for a while before Kyle showed up.

"Thanks Kyle . . ." the Professor said panting.

He sat against the wall to take care of his injuries, Dee Dee helping with them as well.

"Did you find anything on your way here?" he asked.

"No." Kyle replied. "You?"

"I'm afraid nothing either. We were coming through and were ambushed from the walls by those Tech Tunnelers hiding in there. Notice the openings branching off from here."

"I see . . . hm?"

Kyle noticed a lone damaged Tech Tunneler. It was still functioning and slowly trying to escape, pulling itself along with its drills now that its tracks were destroyed. Kyle was about to take it out before when the Professor suddenly grabbed his arm.

"Wait!" the Professor exclaimed. "Capture it. Disable its drills and bring it over to us. It may have some beneficial information in its data banks."

Kyle nodded and did what the Professor instructed. He easily captured the Tech Tunneler and dragged it over against its will. The Professor immediately got to work by searching and decoding its memory banks.

"How's it lookin' Professor?" Kyle asked.

"I haven't been able to find anything regarding the situation." he replied. "Wait. According to this, the Painsaws were ordered to work with the Tech Tunnelers to dig an underground network stretching from Genius Grove to Peach. Once it was done, the Fusions could easily move undetected and break into Dexter's old laboratory. It looks like we were able to stop this plan for now."

"That's good, but who gave the orders? Fuse?"

"Well, yes, but Fuse's orders have to be relayed to a Fusion so they can oversee it. According to this, the current leader in charge of this plan is . . . Fusion Dee Dee."

"Ugh. Why her?" Dee Dee angrily remarked.

"Something personal?" Kyle asked. "Other than, you know . . . being your double."

"She likes to toy around and play games with you, only in a twisted way."

"Where is she, Professor?"

"Well, since she's the current leader of the Tech Tunnelers," he replied, "it would make sense she would have to be hiding in the Genius Grove area, most likely somewhere inside the Infected Zone."

"Great. I'll guess I'll go take care of her."

"Wait. We'll go with you. Like Dee Dee said. She's a crafty one. You may need help if you get pulled into one of her traps."

"Okay. If you insist, but . . ."

Kyle summoned his Eduardo Nano. The miniature Imaginary Friend was obviously frightened by the darkness of the cave, eager for the moment to return to the safety of the Nanocom. Kyle ordered him to use his Papas Fritas power on the Professor and Dee. The Nano pulled out some oversized French fries from his pockets. They decomposed into a yellow mist which enveloped the two, healing them. Since the power's purpose was intended for multi-target healings due to an area of effect, it didn't completely restore their health like the Eddy Nano.

The Professor thanks Kyle began leading him and Dee Dee back to Genius Grove. They eventually emerged in the forest east of Dexter's house. They then headed into the Infected Zone and entered the main building. For Kyle, the only change was that the laboratory wasn't submerged in Fusion Matter anymore. Everything else was relatively the same.

Professor Utonium walked up to the front door and entered a code into the keypad next it. The locks immediately disengaged and the door opened automatically. The group walked inside to the building's foyer. A main staircase that circled the room reached hallways that led to more sections of the building. What looked like a large teleportation pad lied in the center, but it seemed inactive. Stepping on it had no effect.

"So where is she?" Kyle asked. "I only know the layout of the second floor and up."

"She can be anywhere." the Professor replied. "In any case we should stick together. Who knows what could happen if we get-"

The floor panels below the group suddenly opened, sending all of them plummeting into a network of sliding dark tunnels. It started as one tunnel but then turned into two, effectively separating Dee Dee from the group. Kyle and the Professor managed to stay together for the next few forks by holding onto each other until the Professor finally lost his grip and got separated as well. After a couple more seconds of sliding, Kyle finally landed somewhere in the basement.

The room was pitch-dark, impossible to see a thing. While trying to make sense of where he was, the whole ceiling was illuminated with bright lights. It was blinding at first, but Kyle adjusted. He noticed he was standing on a platform in the corner of a large room while the only exit was on the other side. Directly below was a pit full of bubbling Fusion Matter. Kyle then saw a giant screen on the other side of the room activating. A video feed of Fusion Dee Dee came on. She seemed to be in a control room, relaxing in customized pink chair.

"Welcome to my humble home." she said playfully.

"Just shut up and let me out!" Kyle exclaimed.

"Now, now. I'm not that mean as the others. I play fairly."

"Fine, what do you want?"

"You're free to leave . . ."

She pressed a button on the console in from of her. More platforms rose from the Fusion Matter-filled pit as a result. They were easily within jumping distance from each other though the Fusion Matter would possibly make them slippery. One misstep could lead to Kyle's doom.

"But you'll have to navigate your way out of this room on your own. If you do manage to escape, I've marked two signs up ahead, one leading to another one of your friends and another one leading to the exit if you wish to abandon them."

"Yeah, right. As if I'll leave them. And what about the other one?"

"Let's just see if you can make it out of here first and rescue your friend. Ta ta."

The screen turned to static and then deactivated after a few seconds. Kyle jumped to the next platform in front of him. It wasn't as slippery as he had thought. He carefully started to make his way to the other side. Kyle mainly went around the room so he'd at least have the walls for support if he messed up. Almost halfway there once he reached another corner, Fusion Dee Dee came on the screen again.

"Sorry. I feel I made this too easy. Have fun now."

The room started shaking tremendously. Kyle was having trouble to remain steady. The platform he was standing on as well as the many others in the room started moving around. When the shaking was reduced to the point where Kyle could move around effectively, he quickly jumped to the closest platform. Looking back, he noticed Fusion Dee Dee had set up the remaining platforms to collapse once he set foot on them. With no time to lose, he raced through as fast as he could. There was little to barely enough time to think. The number of platforms was steadily decreasing and the platforms Kyle stood on were slowly descending. Luckily, he managed to barely make it as he jumped from the last collapsing platform from the exit, grabbing onto the ledge and pulled himself up. Kyle then turned to see the entire room collapse on itself. He was greatly relieved that he escaped in time.

Kyle stood back up and continued down the hallway, coming to the signs Fusion Dee Dee mentioned earlier. They hung from the ceiling and displayed text on their screen. Left led to either Professor Utonium or Dee Dee while the right led to the exit. Kyle didn't hesitate or think about for one second as he immediately ran down the left hallway.

He soon came to a spiral staircase. At the end, Kyle came into a large circular room where he saw Professor Utonium trapped inside a metal cage at the top of a large pillar. Kyle hurriedly ran up the stairs circling the pillar as fast as he could. As Kyle approached the cage, the entire room began shaking. He thought the room was collapsing at first, but there were no signs of it. Blades extended from the wall to form a floor connecting to the top of the pillar; there was no way back down now.

A door opened in the now smaller room, revealing a larger, more powerful version of the Tech Wing, the Gigatech Wing. It even seemed more aggressive than its smaller counterparts. Kyle noticed a key hung from a rope around its neck. He drew his rifle and shot at its wings, hoping they would be disabled and grounded the monster as a result. The shots seemed to prove no effect. The armor seemed to be modified to resist electricity. The beast, unfazed by Kyle's attacks, continued to advance towards Kyle.

"Why's it so powerful!" Kyle exclaimed.

"It's a pack leader!" the Professor responded. "They're supposed to be much more powerful than the smaller versions!

"Then what should I do?"

"A Blastons Nano! All Nanos are one of three types: Adaptium, Blastons, and Cosmix! 'A' beats 'B' which beats 'C' which beats 'A'. It's basically rock, paper, scissors. All of Fuse's monsters are the same as well! The Tech Wing species are a Cosmix type. Using a Blastons type attack will severely weaken it!"

Listening to the Professor's words, Kyle summoned his Buttercup and Wilt Nanos. He told them wait on stand-by but still follow him. He ran around the monster, shooting it again. This time, damage was being done to its body. The simple presence of the Nanos infused their energy into the rifle shots. Kyle continued firing until significant damage was done. In an attempt to flee, the Gigatech Wing took flight and began circling the room though it looked more like gliding across the floor due to the available space. Kyle ran in the opposite direction in which it was flying, waiting for the moment he will meet with it. Timing it perfectly, he ordered his Wilt Nano to use Nothing But Net. Nano Wilt raised his arms to summon a large basketball net over. It then quickly morphed into a regular net which fell on top of the Gigatech Wing, snaring him to the floor. Kyle followed it up by ordering his Buttercup Nano to use Misfire. Nano Buttercup clenched her fists and flew towards the creature at full speed. Her attack was powerful enough to completely knock the head clean off, effectively killing it.

From the lifeless body, Kyle grabbed the key from what remain of its neck. He then ran over to the Professor's cage and unlocked the door, freeing him.

"Thanks, Kyle."

"No problem. Now we just have to find Dee Dee."

Dee Dee's loud shriek was then heard through the hallway where the Gigatech Wing appeared from. Kyle and the Professor hurriedly ran down the hallway to rescue her. They came what Kyle recognized as the control room that Fusion Dee Dee was in during the earlier video feed. They found Dee Dee inside, strapped to the wall with metal restrains. What made it worse was a bomb hanging a few feet above her head. There was only one problem. There were two Dee Dee, one a couple of meters from the other. Fusion Dee Dee then came on the room's monitor. Robotic claws came out of the walls and attached machines to Kyle's and the Professor's backs while they weren't looking.

"What the heck is this!" Kyle exclaimed.

"This broadcast is a recording." the Fusion responded.

"Wha-"

"Now one last thing before you plan on leaving. You see two Dee Dees standing before you. One of them is real, the other one is me in my human disguise. It's you choice to pick which is the real one by shooting the bomb above the one you think is fake. If you pick the real one, the remote I've placed in her pocket will detach those explosive devices placed on your backs. However, if you choose the fake one, you lose your sweet little friend and I detonate your explosives for Game Over."

"This is sick." Kyle remarked.

"We must be careful." the Professor said. "I told you Fusion Dee Dee likes to play with you. Now Dee Dees . . ."

The Professor proceeded to ask the two some questions that he assumed only the real Dee Dee would know. It seems useless despite how much her knew about her. All the questions he asked got the same or similar answers from both of them. The two Dee Dees accused each other of spying on the other. Kyle wasn't able to ask anything since he didn't know much about Dee Dee besides common knowledge. She obviously would have no knowledge of what she would do in the future so that was out.

"The one on the right." Riyos told Kyle.

"This is going to be more difficult than I thought . . ." the Professor pondered. "Kyle, do you have any suggest-"

Kyle hesistated, but he had aimed and shot the bomb on the right.

"You win . . ." the Dee Dee quietly muttered to herself.

She was consumed in the explosion as she reverted back to her Fusion form. When the smoke cleared, the restrains on the other Dee Dee were released. She immediately took out her remote and freed Kyle and the Professor from their explosives.

"Kyle . . . how'd you know?" the Professor asked in a surprised tone.

"I just . . . knew." Kyle responded. "Something was just not right about that Dee Dee. I just felt it . . . Sorry that I acted like that with no explanation."

"Well, as long you saved Dee Dee, it's all that matters. Though as an adult, I do have to caution you to not be so rash like that."

"I understand."

"Thanks a million, Kyle!" Dee Dee exclaimed.

"No problem. C'mon let's just get out of here and-"

"Wait right there." a voice interrupted.

Another recording of Fusion Dee Dee was displayed on the monitor. The expression on her face showed that she clearly wasn't happy with what she was about to say.

"I humbly congratulate you on making the right choice. I told you I play fairly, but it saddens me to do this. I truly hate doing things like this, but the order comes straight from the boss. He ordered that I activate the self-destruct to this building if I die. Thankfully, he didn't say anything about helping you. The teleporter in this room is connected to the one in the foyer. Just step on it to reactivate it. Really hope you can escape in time. If you're really daring, then the countdown can be stopped"

The image immediately cut to a countdown timer starting at three minutes.

"Damn it, not again!" Kyle exclaimed. "We have to get out of here! C'mon!"

"Kyle, take Dee Dee and get out of this place through that escape corridor." the Professor ordered him.

The Professor ran towards the computer terminal. He began inputting many commands into the console, trying to stop the countdown.

"It's likely I can manually stop this," he told them, "but I can't make a guarantee. In case the worst happens, I need to make sure at least you two get out safely."

"But Professor . . ."

"Go!"

". . . ugh, fine! C'mon, Dee Dee! We need to get out of here! Just trust the Professor!"

Kyle grabbed Dee Dee's arm and pulled her down the teleporters. Once they were both standing on the teleporter, they were transported by to the main foyer of the building. The two quickly ran outside and used the exit portal. Outside, they turned to hear the building's almost finish the countdown.

"Five . . . Four . . . Three . . ."

"No . . ."

"Two . . . On-Self-destruct sequence terminated."

Dee Dee celebrated in joy by jumping joyfully in the air as she and Kyle waited for the Professor to come out. After a few minutes, they were all reunited.

"I almost thought you've wouldn't have made it." Kyle told him.

"I did as well." he responded. "By the way, you forgot this."

Professor Utoniun showed Kyle a Dee Dee Nano hovering in his hands. She looked quite annoyed at Kyle.

"You must've not noticed your Nanocom creating her." the Professor informed him. "She tried to follow you, but she was too small for the teleporter to respond to her presence."

"Aw, she's so cute!" Dee Dee exclaimed.

The Dee Dee Nano went inside Kyle's Nanocom without a word. The screen then displayed her powers as Diva Dynamite, Way of the Dee Dee, and Ponypuff Pirouette.

"Thanks for helping me with our problems, Kyle." the Professor said. "You're welcome to stop by anytime."

"It's no problem. I'm just happy I helped you find Buttercup."

The Professor was frozen by shock. Kyle had assumed that Blossom already told him about Buttercup's whereabouts.

"W-What did you say?" the Professor asked, slightly shaking Kyle by grabbing his shoulders. "Did you say you found my little girl!"

"Y-Yeah. I thought Blossom told you. She didn't come back home yet?"

"No. She said she's been busy lately, but she did say that there was a big surprise she wanted to show me."

"That's odd. I thought she had enough time when I helped to defeat her Fusion."

"I wonder why she didn't tell me . . ."

"She's headed to Townsville with Numbuh 2 to give something to Dexter. Maybe you should ask her when she gets back?"

"Yes, I really want to get to the bottom off this . . ."

* * *

><p>"You recovered the candy?"<p>

"Yup. Sorry for the late report. I had to double check that nobody followed us and if our Newsprint Ninjas left any traces behind."

"As long as it was successful. I knew I could count on you."

"At least this'll help make Fuse a little happier. It's not three in a row, but it's still three of our bases in the Suburbs lost. We've even lost our hold on Sector V, Pokey Oaks, _and_ Genius Grove now."

"You're telling me. I also can't believe Dee Dee actually helped those guys. What's wrong with her?"

"It was expected though. It's her nature. You couldn't expect her to actual want to kill them unless it was her idea and turned into a game of hers."

"Still, Fuse is gonna blow a gasket when, let alone _if_, he decides to reincarnate her."

"Well, just be careful. If this pattern continues, Peach Creek should be next and that's one of our main hideouts. You could be the next target."

"I'm already ahead of you. I've already got June and Sticky to transport this candy before someone can even find it. The other operation should be almost done as well so at least not all is lost if we lose Peach Creek."


	23. Sweet Revenge

**Chapter 23 – Sweet Revenge**

* * *

><p>It was the next day as Kyle was lazily lying in his room at the Sector V treehouse. Numbuh 2 and Blossom had already returned from their trip to Sector V. Kyle gave Numbuh 2 the box of parts he requested when he got to the lab. Professor Utonium wanted to speak to Blossom by himself so Kyle watched as Blossom flew him back to their home in Pokey Oaks.<p>

Kyle entered the treehouse's laboratory to see Numbuh 2 using the parts to fix the LOCATOR. Standing next to him was Numbuh 5, observing Numbuh 2 fixing the device.

"This the Kyle kid, Numbuh 2?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's right." Numbuh 2 replied.

Numbuh 5 calmly walked up to Kyle and shook his hand in a friendly manner.

"Nice to meet you." she said. "Name's Abigail though more people call me-"

"Abby." Kyle interrupted. "Or do you prefer Numbuh 5?"

"Heh. So you've heard about me? Weird. I got the feeling I've met you before."

"You didn't tell her?" Kyle whispered in Numbuh 2's ear.

"Dexter didn't want me to." he replied.

"Am I in the middle of something?" Numbuh 5 asked.

"No, Abby. He was just reminding of something I forgot to do. Hehe . . ."

"Alright . . . Anyway, Kyle's free, right?"

"Yup. Go ahead and take him."

"Take me for what?" Kyle asked.

"I need another man for a spying mission. I thought Numbuh 1 would be here, but I guess he got held up. Do you want to come?"

"Sure, but where is it first?"

"Candy Cove. We got recent reports of candy being stolen from all over Peach. Witnesses keep blaming Sticky's pirate crew."

"Fusion Wilt was in charge of some candy stealing in Pokey Oaks. Maybe another could be in charge of a Peach Creek variant."

"That's what I want to think too, but we have no choice. We have to investigate by spying on them to prove them guilty or innocent."

"Alright, I'll go along."

Numbuh 5 led Kyle to one treehouse's landing bay. Parked on one of the launch spots was an actual large cloud. Numbuh 5 pulled out a remote from her pocket and pressed a button. The cloud's outer covering immediately fading into thin air, revealing a simple KND-esque vehicle hovering in midair.

"My C.L.O.U.D.C.O.V.E.R." Numbuh 5 stated. "With it, the KND can fly across the sky without anyone noticing us since we'll look like regular clouds to them. C'mon, hop in."

Kyle boarded the only passenger seat. He watched Numbuh 5 activated the vehicle's mechanisms and launched it into the air. It wasn't as fast as a SCAMPER or FLIERPLACE, but it rode at a decent speed. Numbuh 5 then activated the camouflage function. A glass-like barrier in appearance began to form around the vehicle. Kyle could see right through it.

"This doesn't look like a cloud." he remarked.

"It does . . . from the outside though." Numbuh 5 replied. "We don't wanna wander aimlessly and crash now do you?"

Imputing their destination's coordinates, Numbuh 5 piloted the CLOUDCOVER southeast towards Candy Cove. They landed and disembarked in the forest just behind the small mountains encircling the pirates' encampment. Numbuh 5 activated her remote again. This time, the CLOUDCOVER cockpit closed and the ship rose from the ground, heading off in another direction.

"Why did you do that?" Kyle asked.

"I can't risk it being found right now." Numbuh 5 replied. "If we get caught, I can easily deal with these pirates and we'll be free to go. C'mon."

The two climbed the mountains till they reach an opening where they could see the pirate settlement. They crouched down where they could spy on the encampment without being seen. For a while, not much was happening. The pirates were doing their regular business. Some were goofing off from their duties or simply talking with their crewmates.

"Looks like they're doing nothing of interest right now." Kyle said. "What now?"

"Just wait." Numbuh 5 replied. "We'll just keep an eye on them a little long- Wait, what was that?"

Kyle and Numbuh 5 turned to see long ropes lash out at them from the darkness of the forest. Numbuh 5 pulled out one of her pistols in retaliation, but one of the speedy figures that dashed from the forest managed to knock it out of her hand before she could use it. Kyle was too surprised the event to react fast enough. The rope had wrapped around his wrist. One of the figures quickly grabbed him as well as Numbuh 5. As quick as the event came, the two were immediately knocked out. The dark figures proceeded to finish the tying the rope and carried them off into the shadows.

* * *

><p>"Ow . . . my head . . ."<p>

Numbuh 5 was regaining consciousness though her head was still in pain. She sat up to see that she was lying inside a tent. It was still daytime as sunlight was still shining through the tent's small opening. Still grasping her head from a headache, she walked outside only to be met with surprise with a group of Candy Pirates staring and grinning at her. On reaction, she reached for her pistols, but was shocked to find them missing.

"What the? Where are they!" she exclaimed.

"You be lookin' for these?" a voice asked her.

Numbuh 5 looked up to see the group of Candy Pirates part to reveal Captain Stickybeard holding her weapons tied to a rope, dangling from his candy cane hook-hand.

"Sticky . . . you little-"

"Now, now girly. Is that any way to be treatin' the man who saved you?"

"What?"

"You be lucky we heard came across those kidnappers and came to yer rescue."

"What about the other boy that was with me, Kyle?"

"Hm? That be the name of that other lad? I'm sorry, but we were unable to rescue the poor lad." he said with a sad expression. "He's probably already at the mercy of _her_ by now . . ."

"_Her_?"

* * *

><p>"Ugh . . . where am I?"<p>

Kyle awoke to find himself strapped to a wooden chair. He was in secluded darkness, or so it seemed when he realized a blindfold was wrapped around his head.

"Finally, you're awake." a voice said.

The voice definitely belonged to a male, but something about it seemed familiar to Kyle. Whoever it was seemed like he was trying to disguise his real voice. The person then approached him. Standing with him was a group of Candy Buccaneers. Made up of different types of candy and salvaged wooden materials, these humanoid monsters wore red bandanas on their heads, complimenting their red, menacing eyes. They wielded oversized lollipops and had mace heads replacing their right hands. Their cotton candy bodies hovered in midair, but they were somehow bound to an oversized lollipop head. If the head moved, then they moved with it. These soldiers seemed extremely eager for a beating.

"What the? Take this blindfold off!" Kyle exclaimed.

"Don't need to yell . . ."

"Where's Numbuh 5?"

"Oh, her? Meddling pirates we bumped into tried to rescue you guys and managed to get her. We got you though so it wasn't a complete failure. But since you asked, I guess there's no need for this blindfold now . . ."

The figure grabbed Kyle's blindfold and yanked it straight off.

"What the? You're-!"

* * *

><p>"So that's it, huh? . . ." Numbuh 5 said disappointed.<p>

"Yup, yer Fusion has taken up residence in me ship." Stickybeard replied. "Disgraceful . . . At least it's not capable of operatin' thanks to the Fusion Matter."

"Why her though? Wouldn't it make more sense if yours was the one hijacking it?"

"Ask that scoundrel, Fuse. It be his logic. It may probably be because us two be the only ones who can pilot that vessel and she just happened to be nearby."

"Anyway, we need to get him back. I got him into this mess. You have extra ammo from that candy you stole, right?"

"Stolen? We never stole any candy since that scoundrel since Fuse invaded the planet! Our candy supplies have been stolen recently too. Why else do you think we be making deals with that Eddy scoundrel in the Cul-de-Sac! Especially at the costs he be chargin'!"

"So if it wasn't you guys, then it must've been my Fusion. Oh, Numbuh 5's gonna make her hurt!"

"If it be more extra fightin' power and forces that you need, then you can count on us. I don't want to go another night knowin' someone be in control of _my_ ship."

"So it's you again . . ." Kyle remarked.

" 'Again'? I don't recall ever meeting you in my life. I just know you from our reports. Apparently, you've been involved in taking out our Fusions. First Blossom, then Wilt, and now Dee. I'll make sure what you get is what you deserve for taking them out. Don't worry though. You're not going to die . . . or at least until Fuse reincarnates them so they can personally deal with what's left of you."

"And how do you know these reports are specifically about me?"

"Don't play dumb, idiot. Ever since you showed up out of nowhere, you've been taking out the head honchos of our operations. Usually, they just escape in time. We don't take kindly to your meddling. I was pretty sure Fusion Dee Dee's last minute resort would've killed you. Oh well, just tell me everything you know." Kyle just turned his head and remained silent. "Hmph . . . fine. Men, you can proceed to beat the crap outta him!"

Shocked to order, Kyle looked back to see the Candy Buccaneers slowly approaching him with happy yet malicious looks on their faces, their weapons readily in hand.

Stickybeard had given Numbuh 5 her weapons back and restocked her ammo supply. Together, they planned the invasion force to take back the Sweet Revenge. Dexter had trusted her with a device to temporarily deactivate an Infected Zone's barriers. Only a certain select people had access to one. Numbuh 5 explained to the rest that she would use it once everyone had surrounded the area, she would deactivate the shields which would signal them to start the attack. She also apologized that even if they manage to recover the ship, she'll still have to keep it inside the borders to avoid further infection. They were disappointed, but Stickybeard managed to convince them to accept it. With final orders and plans set, the operation commenced.

Slowly and keeping out of sight, Numbuh 5 and Stickybeard led the soldiers through the mountain pass. Unlike the future timeline, the pirate ship was inside an Infected Zone and still on dry land, but it was still closer to sea level compared to the rest of the area. The two order the soldiers to set up their gumball cannons near the cliffs, but not close enough so that a Fusion lookout could not spot it. Once that was done, they ordered to crew to remain hidden and quietly take out any Fusion monster that happens to come nearby.

Trusting the soldiers to follow through, Numbuh 5 and Stickybeard descended a slope to the warp portal and proceeded inside the Infected Zone. They hid behind a rock with a good vantage point of the ship.

"Everyone be in their positions." Stickybeard whispered. "Shall we begin the assault?"

"Not yet." Numbuh 5 replied. "First, let me find Kyle . . ."

Numbuh 5 pulled out a medium-sized launcher gun from her Nanocom. Carefully aiming, she shot what looked like a tennis ball onto the ship's deck.

"What'cha do that fer?" Stickybeard asked.

"Wait for it . . ."

Numbuh 5 activated another button on the gun. Two panels opened up on the sides of the weapon, revealing a screen and control panel. With it, she activated the tennis ball's mechanisms. Back on the ship's deck, an antenna and camera lens sprouted from the ball as it began hovering, acting as a drone. Everything on deck was surprisingly clear and free from any signs of activity. Numbuh 5 directed the drone inside an open window and down to the lower deck. It soon detected sound waves and followed it to its source. Hiding next to the doorway, the drone peeked around its corner. Standing in there was a humanoid figure talking to some Candy Buccaneers.

"That our girl?" Stickybeard asked.

"I can't tell. I'd have to get closer to make sure, but I can't risk this thing being detected. We'll find out once we get there. Right now, we need to find Kyle."

"He's probably in the brig. Go that way . . ."

Numbuh 5 forwarded the drone Stickybeard directions. The drone snuck past the Fusion group unnoticed and continued down to the rest of the ship to the spot Stickybeard instructed. At the end of a dead-end hallway, the drone witnessed a Candy Buccaneer exit the prison doorway and enter the room directly across from it, taking the keys with him.

"Do you have another set of prison keys?" Numbuh 5 asked.

"No. We only have one . . . and the Fusion have it."

"Great . . ."

The drone quietly budged the door open just enough for it to get through. The Buccaneer from earlier had fallen fast asleep in a chair. The drone turned around to find the keys hanging on a hook behind him. Having no choice due to the drone's shape, Numbuh 5 had to knock the keys to the floor hoping the Buccaneer wouldn't wake from the noise. Unfortunately, he was a light sleeper and awoke immediately, but the drone quickly found a hiding place. As he approached the keys, an alert was heard throughout the ship.

"All hands on deck! We're being invaded!"

The Buccaneer quickly grabbed his weapon and exited the room, completely forgetting about the keys on the floor.

Numbuh 5 was confused. She turned around to see Stickybeard had taken device from her pocket and deactivated the Infected Zone barriers, thus giving the order to attack. Candy Pirates swung in from above and began sword fighting with the Candy Buccaneers while others began firing occasional rounds of oversized gumballs onto the deck. They didn't want to damage the interior too much or they'd permanently lose the ship.

"What are you doing?" Numbuh 5 exclaimed.

"Buyin' you some time, lassie. Now that he's gone. You're free to get those keys to yer friend there."

Numbuh 5 smiled and nodded back in approval and went back to the control panel. The drone dragged the keys across the hallway into the other room. The other Buccaneers were too busy scrambling for their weapons to notice it. The drone found Kyle, severely beaten and tied up in rope. It look liked he was unconscious. Numbuh 5 quickly ordered the drone to hide in the room with keys until she showed up.

"Looks like we'll have to free him ourselves since he's unconscious." she said.

"Well, what're you waitin' fer?" he asked in an annoyed tone. "Get in there and rescue the lad! We've got your back!"

Numbuh 5 nodded and drew a grappling hook. Using a modified gun, she fired the hook and latched it onto the ship. She managed to board unnoticed due to the ongoing battle on the deck. She opened the nearby doors and descended to the lower deck. Moving stealthily since she still heard Buccaneers around, she made her way to the prison. Once inside, she grabbed the keys from the hidden drone and unlocked the jail cell Kyle was in. She untied his restraints and tried to awaken him.

Seeing it no use, she tried to check his Nanocom for any Nanos that could help, but found it missing. She began frantically looking for it in the case the enemy managed to steal. The drone buzzed behind her and pointed it out on the jail guard's table along with Kyle rifle.

"Buttercup . . . Numbuh 2 . . . Eddy!"

The Eddy Nano was ordered to use Jawbreaker Break on Kyle. In seconds, his body was fully healed of injuries, but he was still unconscious. The Eddy Nano was beginning to worry.

"Let's see . . . Dee Dee!"

She ordered the Nano to use Way of the Dee Dee. The Dee Dee Nano was still in a bad mood, but she was quick to abandon it when she saw what had happened to her owner. The Nano sat midair in a meditating position. After concentrating for a few seconds, a pink aura radiated from her body which only intensified with every second. Once it was at full power, the Nano extended her arms and fired a chi blast composed of her aura from her palms. It wrapped around Kyle and glowed brighter before finally subsiding. Numbuh 5 then saw motion in Kyle's body. He was beginning to open his eyes.

"Numbuh 5?" he asked. "Ugh . . . Where are we?"

"We're inside Stickybeard's ship." she replied. "The prison to be more specific."

"I see . . . Huh? I can move? I thought those guys beat me real bad."

"I kinda used your Nanos without permission. Sorry."

"It's okay-Ah!"

Kyle's Nanos were hugging him tightly, greatly relieved that he was okay. He laughed to himself and sent them back inside for a good rest.

"Let's just get this person." Kyle said as he grabbed his rifle. "I want payback."

"Don't worry. My Fusion's goin' down."

"What? Your Fusion? Fusion Numbuh 2's the one who did this to me . . ."

* * *

><p>Stickybeard had boarded the Sweet Revenge along with the rest of his crew and we're slowly turning the tides against the Candy Buccaneers. Many of the Buccaneers retreated to the lower decks or entirely jumped overboard in panic, inevitably causing their deaths from their bodies being unable to handle the height of the fall.<p>

The Candy Pirates continued to fight the remaining monster who were brave enough to stay. Seeing as his crew had things handled, Stickybeard gathered a small group to find Numbuh 5 and Kyle. As they were about to leave, a barrage of red lasers rained from above, injuring a majority of Stickybeard's crew on the ship. Someone's laughter was heard as Stickybeard looked up to see a FLAPPUH-equipped Fusion Numbuh 2 attacking from the sky. After defeating some of the Candy Pirates, the Fusion quickly dived towards the captain. Managing to sidestep out of the way, Stickybeard quickly unsheathed his sword and slashed off one of his FLAPPUH's wings, causing the Fusion to crash through a staircase. The Fusion tried to escape the rubble he was buried under, but Stickybeard grabbed his shirt and held him in the air.

"Where be the real one in charge of this disgrace of a pirate crew?" Stickybeard asked, pointing his sword at his neck.

"How should I know?" he replied. "She hasn't come out to see us lately. Tch, I should've known your were gonna come here after you rescued one of our captives. I would've been prepared."

"Then I'll just have to-"

"What? Kill me? I'll just come back later when Fuse has the time."

Knowing the stated fact to be true, Stickybeard responded by grabbing him by tossing the Fusion against the wall in frustration. It would just better to interrogate him first before killing him.

"Heh, so you won't do it . . ." the Fusion said in an amused tone.

"Not until you tell me where she be."

The door next to Fusion Numbuh 2 suddenly burst open as Numbuh 5 and Kyle came out of it. Seeing it as a perfect opportunity, Fusion Numbuh 2 quickly grabbed Kyle by the collar and restrained him. He pulled out a pistol and held it to his head, threatening to shoot.

"Hehehe . . . What now?" he asked.

"Why you cowardly little . . ."

"What's yer ransom?" Stickybeard demanded.

"You call off your little pirate crew on this ship, leave, and let us continue to use your ship. Deal?" Fusion Numbuh 2 replied.

". . . Soldiers! Lower your weapons! We're leavin' this fight!"

The Candy Pirates immediately ceased their combat as silence filled the air.

"Your answer?" the Fusion asked.

"Agreed. Leave we shall . . . but the Kids Next Door stay."

KND agents suddenly appeared as they climbed onto the ship. SCAMPERs rose from below, armed with various weapons. They fired a barrage of lasers and rockets onto the ship, sending the remaining Buccaneers into a panicked frenzy. Fusion Numbuh 2 had to dodge one of the incoming stray shots which allowed Kyle to gain the advantage over him and escape.

"Why you! I thought you agreed to leave!" the Fusion exclaimed.

"I did agree to leave." Stickybeard replied. "But the girl, boy, and the KND don't fall under me and my 'little pirate crew' now, do they? And I do be beliven' that you're still usin' me ship so if you'll excuse me, I still have to owe up to our bargain."

Stickybeard grabbed onto one of the still-attached grappling hook lines and slid down the rope with his hook. He gave an order once he reached the ground, but no one on the deck could hear it as it was drowned out by the KND barrage.

"Damn it! Looks like I'll just have to take care of you two myself." Fusion Numbuh 2 remarked.

Using his strength he destroyed one of the ship's boards to reveal a hidden bazooka. He quickly pulled and aimed it at Kyle, ready to pull the trigger. Kyle would've retaliated by ordered his Eddy Nano to use Energy Saver, but he was already resting. Unexpected, the Eddy Nano came out on its own and snapped his fingers. A blue energy barrier appeared between the two sides, defending Kyle and Numbuh 5.

"How's this happening?" Kyle wondered aloud. "I thought you used up all of his energy."

Numbuh 5 showed Kyle a handful of gumballs. They were all colored blue, red, or yellow.

"These are some experimental gumballs that Dexter made. I gave one to your Eddy and Dee Dee Nanos while you were waking up. It looks like they worked. They're supposed to restore a Nano's energy."

The Fusion continued to fire at the shield seeing as he had plenty of ammo. It seemed to work at first, but the Eddy Nano was showing signs that it couldn't keep spawning barriers any longer.

"Shoot! I forgot Fusion Numbuh 2's a Blastons type!" Numbuh 5 exclaimed. "The little guy won't be able to take it for long."

Fusion Numbuh 2 laughed as he continued to drain away the Nano's stamina. Tired and drained from all its energy, the next shot shattered the barrier as the Nano flew back, dematerializing into Kyle's Nanocom. Unable to move due to the speed of the Fusion's weapon, Kyle and Numbuh 5 watched as Fusion Numbuh 2 charged up a powerful laser they wouldn't be able to avoid.

"Fire!" a voice exclaimed from the distance.

The sound of a cannon firing was heard. Fusion Numbuh 2 was directly hit, engulfed in a fiery explosion. The result caused the Fusion's shot to be redirected towards the ship's mast and destroyed its base, sending it into the air. It flipped sideways in the air and plummeted back down, almost slicing the ship in half as it crashed into part of the captain's cabin.

As the smoke cleared, Kyle and Numbuh 5 witnessed Fusion Numbuh 2, badly burnt and bruised, fall to his knees, dissolving into Fusion Matter. Kyle turned to search for the source of the cannonball. Off the side of the ship on a nearby hill was Brock waving towards him and the others. Nearby KND operatives were disposing of the remaining enemies now that their leader was killed. Kyle saw Stickybeard climb aboard the ship once again.

"You did good lad." he said, patting Kyle on the shoulder.

"It's no problem," Kyle responded, "but I didn't really do much. Sorry about your ship though."

"It be no worries, lad. It'll be fixed up, good as new . . . right, lassie?"

"I've got it covered, Sticky." Numbuh 5 replied. "The KND got this covered. It still has to stay inside the borders, but if you manage to clean up the Fusion Matter from here, we'll happily set the ship assail again."

"Good. Now we still have to find this Fusion of yers. I definitely know that Fusion from before not be the one in charge of here."

"Cap'n!" a voice exclaimed.

One of the nearby Candy Pirates beginning the salvage operation was standing near the captain's cabin. He was motioning the three to come towards him.

"We found something!"

"What is it?" Stickybeard asked.

"A Fusion Portal! It be in your quarters!"

"Looks like we found where she be hidin'."

Kyle and Numbuh 5 followed the captain into his quarters and saw the Fusion Portal sitting behind his desk. Before they could react, Stickybeard grabbed the Kyle and Numbuh 5 and tossed them inside with him following inside afterward. Inside the Fusion Lair, Kyle turned back towards Stickybeard as his large body was materializing.

"What did you do that for!" Kyle exclaimed.

"Keep yer piehole shut." he whispered. "We don't her to hear us."

"But why'd you do that?"

"Just a little insurance that you won't bail on me when I ask you help me take out Fusion Numbuh 5. Consider it the payment for the damage of me ship."

"You should've just asked. I would've agreed anyway."

"Fine with me." Numbuh 5 remarked, loading up her weapons. "We have to be quiet. We still don't know what else she has in here."

The group proceeded through the lair without any trouble. They were curious as why there weren't any guards or protection anywhere. As they reached the final chamber, Fusion Numbuh 5 stood there in the center, arms crossed. Her expression made it obvious she was waiting for them. She sighed in disappointment.

"So I guess Fusion Numbuh 2 lost the ship to you losers, huh? Guess I can't trust that oaf anymore. I always have to do everything for that guy."

She then sets her sights on Kyle, unimpressed by what she saw.

"So you're the kid that recently took out our Fusion? Honestly, I was expecting something more."

Fusion Numbuh 5 snapped her fingers above her head though for a few seconds, it seemed nothing happened. A small group of Newspaper Ninjas descended from above, blocking the exit. Kyle immediately recognized them as the same figures that knocked him out while he was looking for the candy treasure. They were taller and bigger than the average man. Fusion Matter was taking on a humanoid form as newspaper surrounded their body acting as the suit, mask, gloves, and anything a typical ninja would wear. They all wielded an oversized shuriken on their back.

The three responded by drawing their weapons and began attacking them. The ninjas moved at quick speeds, making it difficult to get a decent hit on them. Stickybeard protected Kyle if they got too close since the boy wasn't used to blocking attacks with the rifle itself.

"So you're the one who stole the buried treasure in Peach Creek." Kyle remarked.

Stickybeard looked at Kyle in surprise, though he and Numbuh 5 didn't notice. He almost got cut by the ninjas' shurikens when he heard this.

"Buried treasure? It can't be _that _treasure. . ." he said to himself.

"And what if I am?" the Fusion responded. "But this isn't the time for chit-chat, your lives are still at stakes here."

Fusion Numbuh 5 drew her pistols and attacked her counterpat, leaving Kyle and Stickybeard to deal with the Newspaper Ninjas. Two of the ninjas dashed towards them. Kyle had trouble keeping up with blocking attacks due to their quick movements, but he soon noticed a repeated pattern in their attack. It seemed to be their only method. With that knowledge, he managed to shot one in the stomach during an opening, killing it. Stickybeard seemed to be experienced with dealing with these kinds of enemies as he managed to slice a number of them in half once he got the upper hand.

There were still a decent amount of ninjas left as time passed, but their numbers slowly decreased due to the two's teamwork. Meanwhile, the fight with Fusion Numbuh 5 was still progressing. Obviously, they were evenly matched. Both were able to dodge the trajectory of each other's pistols and block the other's punches and kicks. The Fusion tried to hide the fact she was tiring by grinning and trying to distract Numbuh 5, but it became obvious when she began panting.

"Heh, this isn't going anywhere." the Fusion remarked. "This is what you should expect from fighting your double. I'll definitely be at a loss which my henchmen are defeated. I'll agree, you've won this fight . . . for now."

The Fusion's eye contact rested one of the Newspaper Ninjas standing on the sidelines. Noticing the signal, the creature drew a kunai and immediately threw it towards Numbuh 5. She had no choice but to jump backwards and let her Fusion run free. Numbuh 5 tried to catch up but two of the ninjas blocked her path.

"See ya later!" the Fusion yelled as she tipped her cap.

A wall opened up revealing a hidden Fusion portal as the Fusion ran inside.

"Damn it!" Kyle exclaimed as he and Stickybeard defeated the last of the remaining ninjas. "I'm sorry. If I could've actually killed those things faster, maybe she wouldn't of-"

"It's not your fault." Numbuh 5 interrupted him. "C'mon, our job's done."

"Wait, the portal's right there. We can just follow her."

"I wouldn't be doin' that if I were you, lassie." Stickybeard stated. "Take a closer look. The tentacles on this one be larger than the normal ones and it be givin' off electrical sparks. These types only lead to one place, Planet Fusion. Unless you want to get yourself killed, go right ahead. It be best that this thing is destroyed. Numbuh 5."

Numbuh 5 proceeded to spread explosive charges around the portal. With a push of a button, the portal was incinerated into oblivion, not leaving a trace aside from the ashes.

" . . . I guess that's it then." Kyle said. "Well, now that she's gone, we still need to take back the stolen supplies."

"Let me crew and the Kids Next Door take care of that." Stickybeard responded. His attention diverted to Numbuh 5. "Numbuh 5, may I take the lad fer a minute. It be an important matter between us."

Numbuh 5 nodded in approval as she went to contact the outside groups for support to help with the recovery operation. Stickybeard grabbed Kyle's arm and started dragging him to the exit portal.

"Wh-Where are we going?" Kyle asked in a worried tone.

"Relax." Stickybeard replied. "You just need to tell me about that 'buried treasure' you found in Peach Creek."


	24. Happy Birthday

**Chapter 22 – Happy Birthday**

**Author Notes:**

- just saying to readers (that have not played FusionFall) that the Delightful Children from Down the Lane are **not** in the game if you got that impression because I used them in this chapter

- I'm pretty sure it was never stated in the show what the ethnicity of the "Numbuh 2" of the Delightfuls was so I'm making her Hispanic.

- I think I've caught up to the chapters where my style began to be more descriptive so new chapters for _Rewrite _should (can't guarantee) be coming out faster until Chapter 32 where I obviously have to start making up new material

* * *

><p>"Crazy Brain Candy?" Kyle asked.<p>

He and Stickybeard were sitting inside the captain's quarters. It was still partially destroyed due to the fallen mast, but the crew was already working on the repairs. Aside from destroyed remains, the room was decorated with various items a pirate would possess. Stickybeard had poured large glasses of soda for both of them, chugging down his glass like a glutton.

"Aye, ladey." the captain responded. "I'm afraid you've stumbled upon a dangerous treasure; one that was meant to be lost in time and never be found. Tell me, lad. How did you come across it?"

Kyle was dumbstruck. Anyone could've randomly stumbled upon it without a map or by pure chance thanks to the huge red X.

"Are you kidding me?" Kyle questioned him. "There was a huge red X where it was buried and the key was left inside. How could you expect someone to _not_ find it?"

"Red X? We never left a red X when we buried those treasure chests. Nor did we leave the key."

"Then who did it?"

"Only me and my pirate crew know of the locations. Or at least, we _should_ be the only ones who know. Did you have help finding it?"

"Well, it all started with Flapjack giving us a treasure map he found drifting in the ocean."

"That small lad we found washed up on shore?"

"Yeah, that's him. He gave me and Double D a weird map showing the location of the treasure and we eventually started looking for it."

"Do you still have the map on yee?"

'Double D still has it. Do you want me to get for you?"

"No. The map is useless now that the candy was found."

"But what kind of candy is it?"

"It be a dangerous type. It was made by me original Candy Pirate faction. The purpose was to attack enemies from the inside. They secretly hid the candy among another crew's supplies through the use of spies. What my predecessors didn't expect was it to be used against them and innocent people. They suffered a raid and the supply was stolen. The robbers then began sellin' it at a nearby port. The disaster spread from there as the effects of the candy hopped from adults to even children. The crew's last effort to repay for their sins was to spend the rest of their lives travelin' around the world collectin' any remaining pieces they could find. They accomplished their mission, but they had one last dying request, 'Bury it. Bury it where no man could ever find it.' The responsibility was given to me pirate crew, but only I knew of what was hidden in that there chest. We finally finished the deed a few years before Fuse invaded and we made those maps in case the need to find 'em arose."

"What did these things do?"

"The candy itself was made by the crew's Crazy Brain, hence the name, "Crazy Brain Candy". He wasn't what one would call 'right in the head', but his invention was beneficial to his crew. When this candy was consumed, it would cause brain damage to the consumer. This effect would be only temporary as Crazy Brain was never able to perfect the formula fer it, but the effects of it still lasted for a long time."

"Jeez . . ."

"Listen. I noticed no sign of the chest when we ventured through that Fusion's lair. It can only mean it's in the hands of Fuse or relocated somewhere else. This can be very disastrous. Now that Fuse knows of its existence and maybe its effects, he can slip this stuff into our supplies. The KND be a great network of kids and they just eat any kind of candy up. If most of these guys are 'knocked out', Fuse can be getting' a huge advantage against us. And not just those. Innocent civilians could be affected too."

"I have one important task." Stickybeard continued. "Aside from me, only you and other captains of me faction know about this candy's existence. You may tell this to Numbuh 5 and Double D, but aside from her, there's no one else I trust with this and I don't want word getting out. I want you to find all of the hidden stashes, as much as you can come across. I'll give you the maps that'll lead you, but for right now, they're not on me. As time goes on, I'll be trying to find as many of those maps as I can. This'll take precious time so I'll be sendin' me scouts when I manage to acquire one. I'll also try to find out where the X and key came from."

"I understand."

"Now that that's taken care of, thank yee for yer trouble in recovering me ship. You're not written down officially if you don't want your name associated with us, but consider yee to be an honorary member of the crew. If the Sweet Revenge sets asail again, yer more than welcome to hitch a ride."

"Thanks. I better get going."

Kyle got up and walked outside the cabin. Stickybeard looked to see he had barely touched his glass, not even a sip. He quietly laughed to himself as Kyle left through a broken hole in the wall.

On the ship's deck, Kyle saw Stickybeard's pirate crew working hastily. He didn't think he could stop one to get his or her attention if he tried. The fallen mast was already being pulled back up with some repairmen at its base to fix the spot where it broke off. Kyle went over to Numbuh 5 who was sitting on the port side watching the work being done as she waited for him.

"You done with Sticky?" she asked him.

"Yeah. Anyway, he wanted me to tell you something."

Kyle proceeded to retell Stickybeard's story to Numbuh 5 as the two exited the Infected Zone and headed back to the pirate encampment. Numbuh 5 retained the same serious expression as Kyle explained the details about the Crazy Brain Candy. She didn't seem fazed or at least didn't show it.

"I see . . . Don't worry, I'll help you out. I can pull some strings with the KND's trade with the Cul-de-Sac to possibly get more maps. Well, I guess this is goodbye for now. I'll tell the KND about what you've done. They'll have more favor and trust towards you if your name is mentioned in the future."

Activating her remote again, Numbuh 5's CLOUDCOVER descended from the sky and landed in front of the two. Hopping in, Numbuh 5 waved goodbye to Kyle and flew off back towards Sector V. Knowing he had to leave too, Kyle went to a nearby Monkey Skyway Agent and paid the agent for a trip to the Cul-de-Sac.

Upon arrival within the fortress, he was immediately pulled aside by Edd who had been impatiently waiting for him. Edd was obviously worried about what he was going to say based on his expression. Kyle tried to remove his hands from his soldiers, but they were already locked on tightly.

"I- I heard from Numbuh 5 about that treasure." Edd said nervously. "This is bad. Bad, bad, bad, bad! Oh, I knew I shouldn't have gotten myself involved in this!"

"Double D!" Kyle exclaimed as he tried to calm him down. "Just relax for nox."

"Relax? How can you be calm when Fuse has the ability give an innocent person brain damage!"

"I know that this is bad, but that treasure only had a crate's worth. That's barely enough to affect an entire army, let alone the world."

"Yes, yes. I know. But what if he finds more?"

"The only way he could find the rest is by pure luck or if he manages to get his hands on one of the maps and, luckily, Eddy might have some."

"Um . . . yeah . . . about that . . ." he muttered nervously. "Eddy's been collecting all the maps he could get his hands on when Flapjack gave us his. He thought that there would be real treasure in them. Once I told Eddy that the map you had led to a candy stash instead of actual treasure, he got real mad and complained about how they were 'worthless' and got rid of all the maps he had. I managed to 'acquire' a few before he did, but now I don't know where the others are . . ."

"And how exactly did he get rid of them?"

"Well, he definitely wouldn't just throw them away after the money he paid for them so he must've sold them back to the original seller due to the trading policies he set up here."

"Do you know or remember who any of the sellers were?"

Edd paused for a minute, pondering his thoughts, trying to remember who was the last person to have made deals with Eddy.

"Father!" he exclaimed upon remembering.

"Your dad?"

"No, not my father. Father. He's the pyromaniac archnemesis of the Kids Next Door or at least that's how everyone here refers to him. He has powers to control and manipulate fire and he's a capable leader as he's lead assaults on the Kids Next Door before."

"Oh yeah, I've heard of him. He's also rich and owns a mansion, right? Stickybeard mentioned him too. Something about double agents in his crew working for Father and it's how he got some of the maps."

"Eddy must've sold those maps back to Father thinking they were a rip off. Now we just need to figure out how we can get those maps back."

"Can we reason with him?"

"From what I've heard, he seems to hate pretty much anyone who was not on his side before Fuse came, especially the Kids Next Door."

"I can't hurt to try. Where does he live?"

". . . Delightful Manor. It's in the estate just north outside of Sector V. Please, be careful."

Boarding the nearby SCAMPER, Kyle headed to Sector V. Once he disembarked, he headed to the treehouse hoping to find some help and advice in case things got too rough. Kyle didn't find Numbuh 2 in laboratory. After some searching, he found him in the meeting room, but he was talking to someone new, Numbuh 1. The glare of the outside sunlight on his sunglasses prevented any clear vision of his eyes. Noticing the new arrival, the boy drew a pistol made out of a mustard bottle hidden inside his vest and pointed it at Kyle, ready to pull the trigger.

"Numbuh 2." he said calmly. "Who is this?"

Panicking, Numbuh 2 quickly grabbed the pistol and threw to the ground.

"Numbuh 1!" he exclaimed. "He's cool! Kyle here is the guy I told you about!"

"Oh, yes." he said calmly, almost as if he forgot that he even drew the gun in the first place. "Dexter told me about you. Sorry about that little misunderstanding."

"I-It's no problem." Kyle hesitantly replied.

"Well? You came here to say something, right?"

"Um, yeah. I was-"

"I heard Numbuh 2 panicking!" a voice exclaimed.

Numbuh 5 had came inside from the northeastern entrance.

"What happened here?"

"Nothing, Numbuh 5." Numbuh 2 replied trying to get things under control. "Numbuh 1 just threatened Kyle."

"Numbuh 1!"

"Sorry Abby." Numbuh 1 responded. "I guess I've been just a little edgy with the war and all, especially with the situation at Townsville Park."

"Still, that's no excuse to point guns at every random stranger you meet. Just like that time I invited- . . . nevermind. Anyway Kyle, what're you here for?"

"Well, Double D sent me here and I thought some help would make this task easier."

"Where?" Numbuh 1 questioned.

"Um, Delightful Manor . . ."

The room was silent for a moment. Numbuh 2 was the only one whose expression indicated that he was surprised at Kyle's statement.

"It wouldn't have to do with that 'special case', does it?" Numbuh 5 asked.

"Um . . . yeah, it does." Kyle responded.

"Numbuh 1, this is important. I'm sorry, but I can't tell you what it's truly about."

". . . I'm sure you have your reasons," Numbuh 1 responded, "but you can at least tell me what we're going to do there."

"Father has some important maps that he got from Eddy." Kyle told him. "It's important we get those before Fuse finds what they lead to."

"I see . . . Alright, it'll make this operation a zillion times better if I went with you."

"But Numbuh 1!" Numbuh 2 exclaimed. "What if you need backup? You know how Father is!"

"Trust me. I have this under control. C'mon, Kyle."

Numbuh 1 motioned Kyle to the launch deck. A SCAMPER pilot gave Numbuh 1 a salute as he let him take command of his ship, Kyle following inside. Launching off, the ship headed north. As the ship was approaching the end of the city, Kyle looked out the window and saw their destination.

A large four-story mansion laid ahead, the fourth being the attic. The roofs were colored bright-red, the walls bright-blue, and the outside floors champagne. The individual levels grew smaller as they progress higher like an Egyptian step pyramid. Attached to each of the four corners of the second and third levels were small towers. Around the mansion, Kyle could make out a large hedge maze to the right of the mansion and a large and peaceful private lake on the other side.

Numbuh 1 landed the SCAMPER on the street's sidewalk. Kyle followed him through the mansion's somewhat twisted front gates and through its courtyard. It was adorned with nice foliage and scenery with a medium-sized fountain erected in the center. Climbing the front steps, Numbuh 1 simply knocked on the door instead of ringing the doorbell. A few seconds had passed until a group of five children opened the door, three boys and two girls.

They were all dressed in a similar manner. The boys wore blue suits with red neckties though the short blond one and medium-height African one wore shorts instead of pants. The other one was tallest of the group and skinny. His brunette hair covered his eyes though Kyle could catch a small glimpse of them. The African male wore a red football helmet obscuring vision of his face in darkness. Kyle could tell he was wearing braces judging from how the sunlight reflected off them. The girls wore the same white dress with light blue outlines. The shorter, Hispanic one somewhat resembled Numbuh 2 in terms of chubbiness. She wore round-spectacle glasses and wore her hair in pigtails. The other one was taller, blonde and wore a large pink bow on her head similar to Blossom. Out of all of this, Kyle felt uneasy staring at their unnatural sky blue eyes.

"Oh, it's you." they said disappointed. "What do you and your Kids Next Door want?"

Kyle was little spooked that they spoke and acted in unison, even down to the specific movements.

"I want to speak with Father." Numbuh 1 replied.

"Well, he's busy. And I'm sure Father doesn't want to see some meddling Kids Next Door when he's-"

"Oh, is the pizza guy here yet?" a voice asked. "It's been more than thirty minutes already. It better be free."

A man appeared behind the five children. He also wore a suit like the boys though more formal and raven-black as night. What was strange about him was that even his entire face and exposed parts of his body were as pitch black as his suit. Only vague outlines indicated where his clothes ended. He was like a living silhouette or shadow. His eyes were the only "bright" thing about him as they glowed with a bright yellow color.

"Oh, Nigel Uno. What a surprise." he said sarcastically. "What did you come here for? To ruin the Delightful Children's birthday? It's still months away from the next one if you don't already know."

"No, Father. I came with this boy here for a little business negotiation."

Numbuh 1 directed Father's attention to Kyle. Father bent over and examined him closely. He didn't seem to be amused. Kyle couldn't help but stare at his sinister eyes. His pupils looked like raging fires.

"You newest recruit to your stupid organization?" Father asked.

"No, or at least not the Kids Next Door." Numbuh 1 replied.

"I see. Delightful Children, leave us for now."

"But Father!" they exclaimed.

"Now!"

"Y-Yes Father."

They seemed to be a little terrified as soon as Father raised his voice. They immediately left for another section of the house, but not before giving Numbuh 1 an ominous glare.

"Now, what's this little 'negotiation'?" Father asked.

"Someone at the Cul-de-Sac told me that Eddy sold you some maps." Kyle answered.

"Oh, those. You actually want them? They're pretty useless. Then again, you kids somehow managed to build a gun out of a beer bottle . . . Wait here a minute."

Father disappeared inside the mansion for a few minutes. Kyle could hear him ruffling through items in another room. He soon came out with a small cardboard box filled with papers, most likely the maps.

"Here." he said, shoving the box into Numbuh 1's arms. "Consider it my you-know-what. Now go away!"

Father then slammed the door shut, but quickly opened the door again before the other two could move.

"Oh, and if you see the pizza guy, tell him he's late and pizza's already free."

Father closed the front door again and the two headed back to the SCAMPER. Kyle was surprised the whole entire thing went that smoothly, especially after what he got as a first impression. He at least expected at fight.

"So what was that 'you-know-what' he was talking about?" Kyle asked.

"Uh . . . my . . . late birthday present." Numbuh 1 replied in an embarrassed tone. "Father is . . . my uncle."


	25. Thingamajig

**Chapter 23 – Thingamajig**

**Author Notes:**

- Fusion Princess's involvement in the Eds' soda and that entire plotline in the game is going to be nixed.

* * *

><p>"That went faster than I expected." Numbuh 5 remarked. "What did you guys do?"<p>

"We . . . um . . ."

Kyle hesitated on what to saw until he noticed Numbuh 1's glare towards him. It was clear he didn't want to anyone to find out about what he did.

"I don't think you wanna know." Kyle replied.

"In any case," Numbuh 5 said as she took the maps, "it looks like none of what we're looking for is close to here judging by these coordinates. I'll just send these to Double D. He'll tell you when you happen to be close to a location."

"I'm afraid I have to leave now." Numbuh 1 said. "Sorry I couldn't spend time with you guys longer, but it seems Fusion activity has increased Downtown and they need me down there stat. It was nice meeting you, Kyle. Maybe we'll work together in the field someday."

Numbuh 1 turned to make his leave. As he approached the doorway, a tremor shook through the entire treehouse, one powerful enough to knock the group off their feet and activate many emergency alarms scattered throughout the structure. Numbuh 2 quickly made his way to one of the room's communication panels as he got back on his feet and contacted the lower levels.

"This is Numbuh 2." he said. "What happening down there?"

"T-There's . . . it looks like . . . Fusion Blossom has infiltrated the lower levels! She's steadily making her way up!"

"What! But we just took care of her! Fuse must've resurrected her already . . . That was fast . . ."

There was silence for a short moment before Numbuh 2 came to a sudden realization.

"She can't be after- Send every man we've got to guard my room quickly! She can't be allowed to get that important piece of tech in there!"

"Ack! . . . We won't be able to make it!"

"Numbuh 5, Kyle!" Numbuh 1 exclaimed as he drew his pistol. "You're coming with me!"

The three quickly ran out of the meeting room and down the hallway leading to Numbuh 2's laboratory. They were only a few moments away before they heard the sound of the Fusion breaking inside the room. When they finally arrived, Numbuh 1 quickly slid the door open to find Blossom already engaging her Fusion in combat.

"Sorry I'm late guys!" she exclaimed.

Blossom attempted to at least knock her Fusion outside and let the treehouse's defense systems take care of the rest, but Fusion Blossom was dead set on staying until she found what she came for.

"I didn't think I'd see you again so soon." Blossom remarked.

"Likewise." she replied. "But Lord Fuse does have his orders and this is a _perfect_ opportunity to get some payback."

"Ugh! I'll hold her off! Get whatever she's after and get out of here!"

"Oh, no you don't! You didn't think I came here solo, did you? Drones!"

A flock of Tech Wings immediately burst through the walls and began firing a barrage of lasers everywhere as well as starting a few fires which were steadily increasing in size and number.. A small number of the monsters charged toward the superpowered females, forcing them to separate from their struggle. Now that she was free, Fusion Blossom left her counterpart to deal with her minions as she went after the device in Numbuh 2's bed, the frontal part of a jet attached to the wall. Numbuh 1 rushed to try and beat her to it while Kyle and Numbuh 5 prevented nearby Tech Wings from approaching him, but the Fusion's speed was faster than an average human's. Eventually, the Fusion temporarily incapacitated him by shooting him with her laser vision, sending him into a pile of scrap metal.

Fusion Blossom quickly rummaged through Numbuh 2's materials until she found what she was looking for. Conveniently for her, she found it before the rest of the KND's support arrived. Mockingly bidding the entire group goodbye, the Fusion quickly flew through the ceiling and sped off in southeastern direction.

A few minutes had passed until Blossom finally managed to break free from the mobs of Tech Wings, but she was quickly stopped by Numbuh 5.

"Girl, it's too late to catch her now!" she exclaimed. "Don't waste your time!"

"B-But-! . . . Alright."

The Tech Wing numbers slowly began to dwindle as more KND reinforcements arrived. The monsters soon began their retreat when they realized they were at a loss. Fire containment squads were quickly called in to prevent the fires from becoming blazing infernos. Kyle and Numbuh 5 dug Numbuh 1 out of the scrap pile and took him to the medical ward. He seemed to be recovering easily from the attack he received though he still couldn't move from the burn marks.

"Thanks, guys." he said. "I'm sorry I let my guard Abby."

"Hey, you did your best." Numbuh 5 replied. "I don't think any of us would've stopped her if we went after her considering how she planned things out."

"Yeah." Kyle added. "Don't worry. I'll help track her down."

"Numbuh 1!" a voice exclaimed.

Numbuh 2 had suddenly appeared in the room. He seemed out of breath from running all the way to the medical ward.

"I heard Fusion Blossom hit your with heat vision! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, Hoagie. Don't worry about it."

"That's a relief. But I have some good news! It looks like she didn't think of at least disabling our camera network. They caught her heading somewhere in Peach Creek."

"That's good."

"Kyle, if you don't mind. Can you ask around Peach Creek to see if anyone saw Fusion Blossom flying around?

"Sure, but what about you guys?" Kyle replied.

"We still have to take care of Numbuh 1." Numbuh 5 told him. "Just go on without us. I'll catch up with you later."

Kyle left for Peach Creek on a SCAMPER. He looked back through the window to see smoke still being emitted from Numbuh 2's room although it was minor. Many support units were added in case the fire weakened the branches to the point it wouldn't hold up anymore.

Upon landing in the Cul-de-Sac, Kyle immediately began asking around about Fusion Blossom's whereabouts. Many responded that they did see a female flying across the sky, but no one gave any indication of where she have may landed. One of the Urban Rangers Kyle asked suggested talking to Edd as it was his day to inspect the watchtowers. Following the advice proved useless, but it did provide something else.

"Fusion Blosoom did what?" Edd asked. "Oh, that's terrible! I'm sorry I couldn't be of help, but I'm afraid I didn't see her fly by. I must've been too focused on making repairs to one of the towers to notice if she truly did fly above my head."

"Well," Kyle said, "I guess I'll have to keep try-"

"Wait! Do you know what _exactly_ she stole from the treehouse?"

"Um, I was too far away to tell, but I think it was some sort of small processor or computer. Sorry, I'm not good with technology names, but she stole it from Numbuh 2's room."

"What! It could be possible, but . . . no, it can't be . . . We'll have to see. Kyle, a few days ago, I drafted some blueprints for a weapon that would be very effective against Fuse's minions, the Thingamajig. Of course, I did it with help from the data I obtained from other scientists I know. Well, while I was out field collecting materials for it, the Kankers ambushed me and stole my blueprints. It didn't seem to be a problem at first because I had an extra draft, but later that day, one of our Urban Rangers camping out in the woods claimed he saw the Kankers hand it over to girl. He got suspicious and followed her secretly. When no one else was in sight, aside from him hiding in the bushes, the ranger saw the girl turn into a Fusion and run off. He made a break for it back here in the Cul-de-Sac when he was sure the Fusion was far enough away. I'm afraid the Fusions are trying to construct one of their own and somehow convert it into their own weapon."

"I had asked Numbuh 2 for a device to complete the Thingamajig." Edd continued. "That must have been the device Fusion Blossom had stolen."

"You want me to ask the Kankers what they were up to?" Kyle asked. "They know something about this whole thing."

"I'm not sure. But if you insist, just be careful."

Kyle descended the tower's outer wall and followed the nature path leading to Park n' Flush Trailer Park. Arriving there, he found the area quieter than last time, completely abandoned now that Lee and Marie were nowhere in sight. It stayed like this until Kyle heard distant noise coming from the Trojan Hamburger. Investigating, he found Lee and Marie wielding golf clubs trying to defend their structure against three Newspaper Ninjas. It seemed there were originally more in numbers indicated by the newspaper bits and remains lying around.

Firing a couple shots, Kyle managed to kill one of the ninjas while his attention was diverted. Seeing as this action also distracted the other two ninjas, Lee and Marie took the opportunity to double team one of them, instantly tearing him apart. The last remaining ninja panicked now that he was outnumbered and outmatch three to one. It then vanished by disappearing in a puff of smoke from one of his smoke bombs.

Lee and Marie were exhausted as they were still panting trying to get more air into their lungs. Their bodies were covered with injuries and their clothes tattered. The golf clubs were already worn out and bent beyond repair. The Trojan Hamburger seemed damaged as well, but repairs looked easy enough to quickly restore it. Kyle summoned his Eduardo Nano to use Papas Fritas on the two and healed most of their injuries.

"That freaking bitch lied to us!" Marie exclaimed.

"Relax." Lee responded, trying to calm her down. "At least this guy came when he did. I don't know how long we would've lasted. 'Kyle", was it? Thanks for comin'"

"What happened here?" Kyle asked.

"Well, we kinda made a deal with a new girl in the neighborhood. She said she'd give us some free materials for our project if we took Double D's blueprint-things. She just came back a little while ago. We thought she was going to give us the stuff, but then she turned out be a Fusion in disguise and sent those Newspaper Ninjas to attack us. We've been fightin' back until you showed up. Why are you here?"

"Those blueprints. I came to find out where they were."

"Well, if ya want 'em back, count us in. Nobody messes with the Kankers and gets away with it! Give us till tomorrow. There's still something we need to take care of before we go. Don't worry about the Fusion escapin'. We've got that covered."

"Alright, I'll tell the others at the Cul-de-Sac about what happened here."

* * *

><p>Kyle was in the Cul-de-Sac early in the morning. He was speaking to Edd about recovering the weapon's blueprints.<p>

"You sure the Kankers were telling the truth?" Edd asked.

"Yeah, they would lie when they almost got killed." he responded sarcastically.

"You have a point. Anyway, don't worry about the trailer park for now. We've sent some of our support there now that we've come to terms with the Kankers."

"That fast?"

"Well . . . as long as they keep away from me and Eddy as well as Ed if he ever comes back then things will be better. If relationships keep improving and our supplies keep increasing, we may expand our fortress to the trailer park and maybe the entire town though I don't expect that for a while. Maybe the former residents can move back in now that it's starting to become Fusion-free as well."

"Well, good luck with that."

Departing from the Cul-de-Sac, Kyle headed to the trailer park to meet up the Knakers. They were eagerly waiting for him at their trailers, armed with their steel baseball bats and wearing war paint on their faces.

"Aren't you overdoing it a little?" Kyle asked.

"Don't be silly." Lee replied. "This is just for fun!"

"Yeah," Marie added, "it'll add to the mood. C'mon!"

Grabbing Kyle by the arms, Marie dragged him towards the northeastern forest with Lee closely following behind them. On the way out, some of the Urban Rangers standing guard attempted to stop Kyle from wandering into a dangerous place, but they quickly stopped when they saw Lee and Marie with him. They seemed afraid to even look at them. As the group continued deeper inside, the forest began to become more thick and overgrown, so much that Kyle had to begin cutting his way through with his sword.

"I think we're almost to the other end of the forest by now." Kyle said. "Where is she anyway?"

"The mountains just outside." Lee responded. "There's a cave leadin' to her lair at the base of 'em"

The group soon emerged from the other side. Just as Lee claimed, a cave leading inside the mountains laid directly ahead. It seemed to be part of an abandoned mining operation, evident by the mine cart and tracks as well as the wooden archways and lanterns. Unlike any abandoned mine, the lanterns were lit indicating that someone was at least using it.

"What's a mine doing way out here?" Kyle asked.

"Don't ask me." Lee replied. "It was here before we were born."

"Dad did say something about strange but valuable crystals being found around here." Marie added. "But the mine quickly went out of business went nobody found any more of them."

"We better hurry. No tellin' if she knows we're comin' after her."

Inside, the lanterns were lit in a way so one would follow the correct path. The mine cart tracks eventually stopped, but the manmade tunnels still continued. There were still various materials lying around such as pickaxes and hardhats that slowly increased in number as the group made their way deeper.

Noises could be heard in the shaft up ahead. It seemed to be much more illuminated than the tunnels. The group concealed themselves by the entrance and peered inside. It was a very enormous shaft like the size of a skyscraper. At the center was a large and seemingly bottomless hole. A towering stalactite, almost the size of the Sector V treehouse, was hanging from the ceiling as if it was waiting to pierce whatever was going to emerge from the dark abyss. Its reach was just halfway to the lowest ground level.

Observing the area more closely, Kyle pointed out an area near the center. There was wooden and chair set up. Sitting there was the Fusion although it was strange that she was all alone. It was simply just her chewing some bubblegum and mindlessly reading a magazine. She was dressed in similar attire to the Powerpuff Girls in a dark purple and black color scheme although she wore black high-heeled boots and a jewel-encrusted, metallic crown on her head. She wore her curly hair as two puffs each on one side of her head and she seemed to have freckles although Kyle couldn't make sure due to her Fusion Matter skin.

"Fusion Princess." Marie quietly muttered. "That scumbag . . ."

"Just wait till you meet the real deal in person." Lee remarked to Kyle. "She's a nightmare."

Kyle attempted to suggest ideas on how to sneak up on her, but Lee and Marie quickly moved forward before Kyle could notice them leave. He couldn't catch up to them without alerting Fusion Princess of his presence so he decided to wait it out, waiting for the correct opportunity. Lee and Marie steadily made their progress towards the Fusion; they were practically to the point of giggling at how the Fusion stupidly let her guard down. Lee was standing directly behind her when she tapped Fusion Princess' shoulder.

"Whatcha' readin' there?" she excitingly asked.

Fusion Princess' blown bubble popped from the surprise. She leaped onto her desk and was slowly crawling back against the wall in fear now that she saw the two were armed.

"L-Lee!" she gasped. "W-What are you doing here? I-I, um, still have the stuff you wanted. I can go get it for you."

"That's great!" Lee exclaimed as she slowly reach for her. "But what's the rush? We can just take it with us when we're done with our little pummelin'~"

"I don't know Lee." Marie said. "A 'little pummelin'? After what we've been through, I say we should have a frenzy!"

The Fusion quickly screamed in fear as she drew and detonated a smoke bomb, encasing the three in a cloud of smoke. Soon, Fusion Princess emerged flying due to equipping a double-rocket jetpack. She hovered above the large hole knowing that the Kankers couldn't reach her there and that they would only have two shots if they attempted to throw their bats at her.

"Ha! What're you going to do now!" she exclaimed trying to mock them. "My jetpack has an infinite amount of fuel. I can stay here all day!"

"Heh, I don't know about." Lee remarked.

"Yeah, look behind you!" Marie exclaimed.

Confused as to why they said those statements, Fusion Princess turned her head to see Kyle had fired two shots at her jetpack's rockets. It was too late to move by the time she noticed it and was directly hit. Fusion Princess spiraled out of control due to the damaged rockets and was eventually slammed powerfully against the stalactite, shaking the room. The force of the impact partially broke off the stalactite and quickly sent Fusion Princess and the spire plummeting into darkness. The stalactite was too large to go through, thus sealing it and preventing no way back out without destroying it.

"Nice work there!" Lee exclaimed.

"But you could've at least made her land near us so we could've had some fun with her." Marie said disappointed.

"It's not like I can specifically make someone land somewhere if they're out of control." Kyle replied. "Any blueprints on that table?"

Lee quickly shuffled and skimmed through the papers on the Fusion's desk. There was nothing but ladies' magazines and old mining forms.

"Nope, they're not here. Tough luck."

"Well, let's get out of here." Kyle said. "I don't wanna be here if that thing breaking off is gonna cause a cave-in soon."

* * *

><p>"Fusion Princess has been taken out."<p>

"That's expected of her considering her past achievements, nothing."

"Still, why are you in charge of this mission? I'm much more capable than you-"

"I'm sorry. Do you want me to tell Lord Fuse you're disrespecting your superior?"

"N- . . . No . . ."

"You know. You could've been in charge if you didn't royally screw up with that Powerpuff operation. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gotten demoted."

"Hey, I was double teamed! Okay? Not my fault."

"Excuses, excuses . . ."


	26. Delightful Developments

**Chapter 26 – Delightful Developments**

**Author Notes: **

- changing purpose of gumballs and Nano Potion compared to the game counterparts

* * *

><p>"What do you mean the blueprints weren't there!" Edd exclaimed uncontrollably.<p>

He was trembling with fear and nervousness while Kyle was trying to calm him down again.

"Hey, they weren't there by the time we got there." Kyle said. "She must've given them to someone else."

"But that was our only lead! Now it's just a wild goose chase and we're running out of time!"

"Relax. The guys at Sector V said they're gonna send search teams to look high and low for them. And you should be happy I got the Kankers to double check the area."

"I-I'll try . . ."

Edd walked back to his house still shivering although it was only slightly now. It seemed he was going inside to get some rest to handle the pressure he was dealing with. As Kyle headed towards the marketplace, his Nanocom vibrated from his belt. It was registered as an unknown was hesitant to answer, but curiosity eventually got a hold over him.

"You!" the voice exclaimed quite loudly.

It was enough to pierce one's eardrums. He was obviously furious at something. Kyle immediately recognized his voice.

"F-Father?"

"That's right. I got someone to give me your contact information. Is that brainiac, Double D, with you? My sources tell me you're in Peach Creek right now."

"Y-Yeah, but he just went inside his house. I'm pretty sure the door's locked right now."

"Well, when he comes out, tell him that I would like to have a word with him. He's in _huge_ trouble!"

Father immediately hung up. Kyle was confused to what someone with a personality like Edd could do to make Father that angry. Seeing as he wasn't busy, Kyle decided to stay in Peach Creek until Edd felt better and came back outside. While he waited, he decided to relax in a hammock and take a nap.

"Something was not right about that mine." Riyos said in Kyle's dream state.

"What do you mean?" Kyle asked.

"The energy presence there was strange. I know you could at least have felt some of it."

"Well . . . yeah, but I just brushed that off as something else."

"That energy . . . it was not natural."

"Do you want to go back?"

"No. Just leave that place alone for now . . ."

It wasn't until later in the afternoon until Kyle awoke and saw Edd finally leave his house for fresh air.

"You doin' okay?" Kyle said as he walked up to him.

"Yeah." Edd responded. "I just needed some rest was all."

"Well, I'm sorry if this stresses you out more, but Father wants to speak with you."

Kyle handed his Nanocom over to Edd. He had already began contacting Father while they were talking. The man was already growing impatient of waiting any longer. Edd hesitantly waited for the holographic visual to appear.

"H-Hello?"

"Oh, good. You're there." Father seemingly said happily. "Now, onto business . . . Why the hell did you detonate Gooby Traps in my development! It's bad enough the place got turned into a damn Infected Zone, but now you're actually destroying it and practically burning my money to pieces! What the hell, boy!"

"What! M-Me? Surely this is some mistake! I've never set foot near your housing development!"

"Oh, really now? Well, recent video footage from my surveillance system there _clearly_ shows you setting up explosive charges and detonating all of them minutes later once they were all set up. Unless you can somehow provide evidence that shows it wasn't you, you're in for one hell of a lawsuit!"

"B-But!"

Father had already severed the connection before Edd could continue. Edd seemed even more distraught by the look on his face. Kyle tried to comfort him and make him feel better, but he knew I wouldn't work that effectively.

"I'm sorry about that." he said.

"Don't worry about it." Edd replied. "I'm used to taking the blame."

"Look, I know you're not the kind of guy to do something like that. I'll help clear you name."

"I guess . . ."

"I'll tell the Sector V guys about this. They can probably hold off or at least distract Father until we fix this problem."

". . ."

"Alright, I'm off."

Kyle boarded a SCAMPER to Sector V and headed to the treehouse to inform Numbuhs 2 and 5 of the situation and maybe Numbuh 1 if he was still there. He found the former discussing something in the meeting room.

"Hey, guys." Kyle greeted them.

"Perfect timing, Kyle." Numbuh 2 responded. "KND scouts just found out where Fusion Blossom headed, Father's Delightful Developments."

"R-Really?" he responded in surprise.

"What's got you?"

"Well Father been yelling at Double D for setting off explosives at his development. He's threatening a lawsuit."

"Why does Father have to do that now? In the middle of a war!"

"But why Double D?" Numbuh 5 questioned. "I know that guy wouldn't ever do something like that. He wouldn't have the guts to pull that off, even if he was forced to do it."

"Father said he had photographic videos evidence." Kyle informed them.

"Well they must be either fake or someone's framing Double D. Either way, we're gonna figure it out when we get there. Kyle, meet up with us east of the Cul-de-Sac. There's a large squad of KND waiting there. We were originally gonna take back Numbuh 2's tech, but now this has turned into helping out an ally."

Kyle promptly exited and headed back to the Cul-de-Sac. While the SCAMPER was closing in on the Cul-de-Sac, he could see the KND squad in the distance. They were like a miniature army, ready to do some damage. Upon landing, Kyle left the fortress's main gates and followed the roads westward to meet up with the army. He saw that Numbuh 5 had made it to the location before him.

"Great, you're here." she said. "Blossom along with another squad already went ahead. They should be arriving there just about-"

An explosion promptly interrupted her. Sounds of gunfire could be heard as well as rising smoke could be seen from the development.

"Perfect timing."

Numbuh 5 commanded the remaining KND operatives to charge inside. One by one from the south, they began pouring through the warp gate, increasing their attacking forces' numbers. Numbuh 5 quickly pulled Kyle aside once they were inside.

"You're with me again." She said.

"Where are we going?"

'We're sneaking past their flanks right to the Fusion Portal."

Numbuh 5 directed Kyle through the under-construction houses. For Kyle, it was much easier to navigate than before now that there were much less puddles and moats of Fusion Matter to jump across. The walls were still incomplete, but they provided enough cover for the Fusion forces to not notice the two. Kyle peered through the holes or above the wall time to time to check how the battle was doing.

The enemies mainly consisted of corrupted versions of many construction vehicles such as bulldozers, cranes, and excavators. It seemed the Fusion Matter strengthened their armor to resist gunfire, but explosives still easily pierced through. Kyle could see Blossom engaging another aerial fighter in combat. He assumed it was Fusion Blossom. The KND hadn't gained much ground due a bubbling Fusion Matter moat separating the forces, but the Fusions didn't seem focused on pushing them back.

Kyle and Numbuh 5 managed to finally sneak behind enemy lines, but their destination was still located on higher ground. It was a large hill surrounded by a large metal fence and monsters still guarded it. It seemed too steep to climb without a grappling hook due to construction altering the slope. Numbuh 5 motioned Kyle to a sewer lid and lifted it, revealing a ladder leading to the underground sewers. Peering down, he could already see the glowing sewage now that it had mixed with Fusion Matter.

"Gross . . ." Kyle stated as he pinched his nose from the nauseating smell.

"It's the only way to get past them." Numbuh 5 said. "But if you can't handle the smell then take this."

Numbuh 5 handed Kyle a spare KND-manufactured gas mask. Attaching them to their faces, the two descended the ladder into the slimy depths. The sewage flowed like a strong river, a glowing green one. Separate flows eventually met at one place and combined into one as they headed to their final destination. The entire structure was still unfinished as some paths were still blocked off by large crates and building supplies. Some pipes hidden in the walls had already burst open, leaking even more Fusion Matter into the glowing mess.

After navigating the many paths as well as helping Kyle past some of the tricky obstacles, Numbuh 5 finally found the correct ladder. She went first just in case a monster was nearby and she wouldn't alert it. Carefully, she raised the lid and peered around. The battle was still ongoing, obvious by the noises, but there was not a single monster in sight. Kyle followed once she gave the clear signal. They emerged near a backyard pool and like many places in the area, it was filled almost to the brim with Fusion Matter as well. Numbuh 5 pointed to the Fusion Portal placed between two nearby oak trees. Without hesitating, she drew her pistols and quickly jumped inside with Kyle immediately following.

The two emerged in a dark cavern although the layout was more straightforward compared to the other lairs as there were no other paths branching off. Carefully taking their steps as to not alert anyone of their presence, the two quietly moved on. They first came to a large chamber although unlike the past ones they've seen, there was sunlight coming from a large hole in the ceiling. It was big enough for a house to fit through.

"Uh, is sunlight normal in these places?" Kyle asked.

"Never or at least I've never seen it." Numbuh 5 answered. "Usually these glowin' green pods and terrafusers are all light there is."

Numbuh 5 led Kyle carefully across the chamber. They were more alert of their surroundings now that the sunlight gave a very clear view of everything and easily gave away their positions. As they approached the exit, they heard the distant echo of a female screaming. Kyle turned and looked up to see a shadowed figure plunging downward into the cavern. It wasn't until she reached the ceiling of the chamber that Kyle recognized her as Blossom. The force of the impact was enough shake the entire chamber and create a crater. Once the dust had cleared, Kyle ran towards the site with Numbuh 5.

"Blossom!" he exclaimed.

Kyle tried to shake her awake. She was covered with bruises and injuries and many parts of her clothes were torn.

"Are you all right?" he asked. "What happened?"

"Ugh . . . she froze me ice and kicked me down here." she muttered.

She was about to close her eyes, but quickly snapped them back wide open and pushed the two towards the exit. "Look out!"

Another figure came down like a speeding bullet as Blossom rolled herself out of the way. It was Fusion Blossom. She was in a less serious condition than her counterpart with fewer injuries on her body. She slowly began walking towards the group with a malicious smile on her face.

"Had enough yet?" she asked Blossom playfully.

She turned her head to notice the other two. The Fusion looked at Kyle with disdain.

"Oh, it's you. Fuse has been really pissed at you lately, so much that it got me demoted."

"It's not like what you're doing is right!" Kyle responded.

"Haha! Don't make me laugh. Taking at least one of you out should help me get my position back. And judging back how your little friend is, all three of you should be a piece of cake.

"As if!" Numbuh 5 exclaimed as she aimed her pistols.

"Stop!" Blossom exclaimed as she suddenly kicked her Fusion away. "I'll handle her! Go on ahead!"

"But look at you! There's no tellin' how this'll play out without some help!"

"Just go!"

Kyle remained silent as he summoned his Eddy Nano and healed most of Blossom's injuries. He then sent his Blossom Nano to stay with and support her until he came back.

"If you insist on staying here," he started, "at least do it when you have a fighting chance."

Blossom simply smiled and nodded as she spontaneously dashed towards her counterpart with a superpowered punch. The Fusion responded with one of her own. The intense collision created another cloud of dust which filled the entire chamber. Numbuh 5 took the opportunity to grab Kyle's arm and make a break for the exit. As the two continued down the long corridors of the cavern, they could still hear the heated battle behind them; it seemed neither of the fighters was willing to give up that easily.

They came to the next chamber though this time it was similar to the regular ones they have seen. The relief that they were getting closer to the end was short lived when they saw Fusion Numbuh 5 casually walking inside from the other end. She taunted the two as she spun one her pistols around her finger.

"So you left one of your own to move on?" she asked. "Isn't that a little unheroic? Oh well. Now it's my turn!"

The Fusion ran forward and began firing upon the two. Kyle reacted by summoned his Eddy Nano's shield around himself. Numbuh 5 had given him some of Dexter's experimental gumballs to restore the Nano's energy. Seeing as how effectively they worked, Numbuh 5 saw no problem in giving some to Kyle. Numbuh 5 moved forward while easily dodging and maneuvering through the shots left and right. While Numbuh 5 was distracting her Fusion, Kyle took the chance to try sneaking up behind her and attempted to disable her by firing at her legs. It proved ineffective as she was quick to notice and immediately spun around and kicked him back towards the exit. Numbuh 5 quickly ran to stand between the other two and tried taking her down again, but they were still at an even match for each other.

"You know this could just end up bein' a draw." the Fusion plainly stated. "Then again, that squirt is bound to get me sooner or later when I'm not lookin'. Is that really fair?"

"Guess not." Numbuh 5 responded smiling. "But who said he's helpin' me?"

Numbuh 5 detached two KND-crafted grenades from her belt and kicked both of them up towards the ceiling. Raising her pistols over her head, she fired two individual shots, each hitting their mark once they were in close range of the ceiling. The following explosions caused a large amount of enormous boulders to rain down from above. Once the dust had cleared, Kyle saw the boulders had piled to form a massive wall between him and the other two. The wall was too dangerous to attempt climbing. One overhead boulder coming loose could instantly crush someone to death.

"Numbuh 5!" Kyle exclaimed.

"Get out of here now!" she responded back.

"But how'll you get over here?"

"Blossom can easily burst through here."

"Blossom?"

"What? You don't trust your own friends makin' it through? Boy, I thought you were better than that. Blossom's probably finishin' taking care of her as we speak!"

". . . Alright, I'll see you soon."

"Thatta boy!"

"If you're done chatting," Fusion Numbuh 5 interrupted, "you still have to deal with me!"

Kyle took a few steps back as her heard the two return to fighting each other once again. Wishing her good luck, he turned and ran down further into the cavern. Stealth didn't matter anymore now that the enemy knew they were inside. He soon came to what looked like the last chamber, evident by the exit portal in the distance. Kyle noted another exit to his left; he was curious as to where it lead.

This chamber was vastly different from the others. It was obvious someone had made enormous changes to the interiors. The floors were made steel as wells as the walls though they looked partially finished. Various large machines with all kinds of flashing lights encircled the room. There were even large transparent pipes attached to places, flowing with Fusion Matter. Kyle was amazed at someone accomplishing this feat.

Standing at the other end was a Fusion with his back turned. He was working on a contraption on a lab table. Kyle assumed it was his version of the Thingamajig. He was quick to notice Kyle's entry as the boy stepped onto the metal plating.

"Oh? Someone made it here after all?" he questioned.

He turned around to reveal himself to be Fusion Edd.

"I thought Fusion Blossom and Numbuh 5 were all the help I needed."

Kyle was a little hesitant to say anything. The vibe from Fusion Edd was the complete opposite of his counterpart. The entire atmosphere he created alone made Kyle depressed.

"So you stole Double D's blueprints?" Kyle asked.

"I wouldn't say 'stole'. More like 'borrowed'~"

Fusion Edd tapped a secret panel in the floor with his foot. Kyle thought the room began turning, but he looked down to see he was standing on a rotating platform which encircled the room. He looked back up and was somewhat relieved to see the Fusion was on the complete opposite side of the platform as well. None of them were getting closer to the other though Kyle was confused as to why Fusion Edd was letting him closer to the lab table with the weapon. The platform stopped once the two had switched positions.

"I invite you to take the blueprints and Thingamajig back," Fusion Edd said as he pointed to the table behind Kyle, "but would you rather trade for something more important?"

Fusion Edd tapped his foot on another secret panel. A gateway on the ceiling as well as the center of the room opened. The bottom revealed a boiling pit of Fusion Matter. From above came a pole with someone tied and gagged to it, the real Edd. He was desperately pleading for help and trying to get free but stopped as the bottom end of the pole reached a few feet above ground level.

"You little- When did you catch him?" Kyle asked.

"Little guy was kinda depressed when I framed him." Fusion Edd responded. "_So_ depressed he was willing to take a walk outside the fortress. Perfect chance to get him!"

". . . I'll take Double D back. You can keep the Thingamajig."

"Good answer, but first let me just-"

The sound of an energy blaster being fired interrupted the Fusion. An electrically charged laser immediately brushed past Kyle from his right and hit a control panel on one of the larger machines. The action caused the gateway below Edd to close. Kyle quickly took the opportunity to run up and free Edd from his restraints. He was still coughing due the dust and dirt he inhaled while captured and needed a moment of rest.

Still confused to what just happened, Fusion Edd look toward the exit that Kyle momentarily been looking at before to see Fusion Princess armed with her energy blaster. She had somehow survived her fall and made her way to the lair. Her clothes were torn and covered in mud and her jetpack was obviously dented and broken beyond repair. The demented expression on her face showed she had gone insane.

"Fusion Princess, you dumbass!" Fusion Edd exclaimed.

"I-I'll show you what I can do . . ." she muttered. "I'll kill everyone here if it gets Lord Fuse to recognize me!"

Fusion Princess laughed maniacally as she randomly opened fire on everything in sight. Fusion Edd ran for cover knowing he didn't have to power to stop or resist her. Kyle raised his Eddy Nano's shield again, but it didn't look like it would last very long as the Nano's energy was partially worn down from earlier.

"Here, use this." Edd said.

Edd handed Kyle a glowing flask containing a bright blue liquid. He was still coughing, but he had recovered enough of his energy to be able to move now.

"It's a Nano Potion. It's a much more stable substitute for gumballs so it's safe for a Nano to consume more than one dose in a day. It'll also give them a small energy boost as well."

Putting trust in Dexter's research, Kyle handed the flask over to his Nano who chugged it down like he was extremely parched for days. Similar to how Edd had described it, the Eddy Nano was as lively as ever. He even had a bright yellow aura surrounding him. His shield was also glowing brighter than ever; it even began reflecting the energy blasts back at Fusion Princess though she didn't even attempt to avoid them.

Edd began pulling Kyle over to the partially completed Thingamajig. He hastily began working to put the finishing touches on it, hoping it would be useful for the situation. Soon Blossom and Numbuh 5 had burst inside having taken care of their counterparts and immediately retreated behind the wall once they noticed the rampaging Fusion.

"Woah, what's got her problem!" Numbuh 5 exclaimed.

"She's gone crazy!" Kyle exclaimed. "We're fine though! The shield'll hold for now, but it won't last forever! Just keep that psycho back until Double D here finishes!"

Numbuh 5 nodded as Blossom flew towards Fusion Princess while dodging her energy blasts one by one. The Powerpuff Girl managed to kick the weapon away once she had gotten close enough, but the Fusion was still willing to physically put up a fight as they began wrestling each other on the ground. The Fusion's strength was somehow equal to her Blossom even though she was a copy of an average human. Numbuh 5 knew Blossom needed help, but she couldn't let Fusion Edd escape. He was slowly making his way to the exit portal until Numbuh 5 had stepped in his path. Having no choice and seeing how he was defenseless, Fusion Edd surrendered himself as Numbuh 5 began tying him with the ropes that had previously been used to restrain Edd.

Edd was still working hard on finishing the weapon. He began panicking and letting out small yelps when he accidentally messed up a step, but he was quick to correct it as he was nearing completion. During the struggle, Fusion Princess kicked Blossom away from her as she darted for her weapon but was stopped as Blossom froze the Fusion's legs in a block of ice. Blossom continued to shower the Fusion with her ice breath as she desperately tried to break free, screeching in an unceasing fury.

"All right, it should work now!" Edd exclaimed satisfied.

He turned and carefully aimed the newly created weapon at Fusion Princess. It was held in a similar fashion of a machinegun, but the weapon itself had one large gateway to fire whatever its ammunition was. A light blue light was produced as the Thingamajig began charging up with power. Once the light had reached a blinding level, the machine released a powerful laser. The force of just the firing sequence alone was enough to push Edd back towards the wall as he dropped the Thingamajig on the floor. Fusion Princess was directly hit with the shot, instantly vaporized without leaving a trace except her armor.

Kyle was still baffled at how easily Fusion Princess had disappeared. The weapon was one to behold. Kyle to help Edd back on his feet while Numbuh 5 tossed the now tied up Fusion Edd against the wall and went to help Blossom recover. The Thingamajig was still burning hot from its recent fire as well as giving off steam. Nobody risked touching without severely burning his or her hand.

"You all right?" Kyle asked Edd.

"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine." he responded.

"You sure want to keep that thing? It looks pretty dangerous."

"It's still in its prototype stages. After all, I had to rush it with whatever materials I had. A little more time of adjustments should suffice. Then it'll be perfectly harmless to non-Fusions."

"Great job guys." Numbuh 5 said as she was helping Blossom walk over to the two. "Where did that crazy girl come from?"

"Not sure." Kyle replied. "I was pretty sure she fell to her death at the abandoned mine, but I guess she somehow survived."

"At least we took care of her."

"What about those other two Fusions?"

"Blossom took care of hers soon after you left. Mine escaped again once Blossom showed up to help me."

"As long as you guys are okay. Blossom?"

"I'm fine." she said. "Just need to rest a little."

"Yo, Double D." Numbuh 5 said. "Mind taking her back to the KND squads outside? I need to talk to Kyle privately. Don't worry about the weapon and blueprints, we'll bring it back."

"Oh, I, um . . . sure." Edd said stuttering.

He blushed as he put Blossom arm around his neck to help her stand. Together, the two were instantly teleported outside as they touched the green tentacles of the exit portal.

"What's so important that they needed to leave?" Kyle asked her.

"Crazy Brain Candy, remember?" she replied bonking his head. "We still need to figure out where they took that stash. Since we have a Fusion here, we might as well force it outta him."

The two turned to see Fusion Edd was still tied up. He hadn't even attempted to try and escape though he did managed to sit upright again as he was leaning back against the wall.

"All right, ya Fusion." Numbuh 5 started. "Talk! What did you do with the Crazy Brain Candy?"

The Fusion smirked, almost ready to laugh in hysterics.

"How should I know?" he asked. "Your Fusion was in charge of that assignment."

"I know enough to figure out that you at least have the knowledge of what happened there so I'm asking again. Where's the candy!"

"Alright, I admit I know what happened. But the sad truth for you is that Lord Fuse didn't even trust even _me_ and Fusion Numbuh 5 with where he was sending it."

Numbuh 5 kicked a nearby rock in frustration.

"Oh, don't get angry just yet! Just because I'm loyal to Lord Fuse doesn't mean that I'm the least bit curious to what his plans are. I'm probably getting demoted anyway after this so it won't make a difference saying this. Before I came here, I overheard one of my comrades claiming that his base got a strange shipment locked up tight, unable to come close to opening it. What could it be? The candy, a secret weapon, or simply a decoy to throw you guys off? Lord Fuse can be one of those people who's able to think this far ahead of the game."

"And your 'comrade'?"

"His last station at the time was some run-down facility located in a desert . . . Satisfied?"


	27. Chicks Dig Giant Robots

**Chapter 27 – Chicks Dig Giant Robots**

**Author Notes: **

- I forget if Coop bought Megas or just took it from the junkyard, but either way, I'm making it so that he bought it. Also, I haven't watched Megas XLR in a long time (and I think I was too young/uninformed to understand the content) so I'm sorry if I get the canon wrong.

- I'm going with the "parallel timelines" concept so Kiva's timeline will be an alternate timeline where Fuse never invaded which is why she doesn't know about him.

* * *

><p>"Narrow Escape . . . Meddal Detector . . . Sugar Rush . . ."<p>

Kyle was mindlessly browsing through his Nanocom's database for information about his newly acquired Edd Nano. It was morning again as he had spent the night in Edd's household. Numbuh 5 and the rest of the KND had returned to Sector V though Blossom decided to stay behind until she healed from the previous battle. The Powerpuff Girl was still resting on one of Edd's guest rooms with Edd himself attending to her so she wouldn't do something reckless.

Kyle's free time was short-lived as it was not long until he received an e-mail from Numbuh 2. I didn't seem urgent judging by how it was worded, but Kyle decided to get it over with.

_Hey, Kyle. Ben needs data that can be found in the junkyard for his grandpa. He can't come personally to retrieve it because Fusion activity is a little high in Offworld Plaza so they needed someone else to do it. I send the coordinates of a Plumbers base and a code for the procedure. Just connect your Nanocom to a terminal there and you should be good to go. Don't worry about rushing. This request isn't ASAP._

Exiting the fortress, Kyle headed to Goat's Junk Yard. The site wasn't hard to notice once he came closer. Healthy green grass stopped growing as the earth became baron and steadily accumulated scrap and junk metal until it formed huge piles. It was much less nauseating now that it wasn't being used as a waste dump. The sky, however, was still the same as Kyle remembered it, dark due to the fumes coming from the processing plants. Most of the area was in Infected Zone borders as well.

Proceeding inside the front gates, Kyle was slightly disappointed with what he saw. He half-expected Jack to be meditating on one of the piles, but he was gone. Kyle wondered where in the world he was now. Aside from a few SACT agents on monitoring duty, Kyle found someone new near the trailer parked next to the entrance, Coop.

The man was quietly sitting down in a lawn chair reading a magazine while drinking a milkshake. His entire outfit was covered with oil stains and dirt. It seemed like he just finished working on a car or other kind of vehicle. Coop was quick to notice Kyle as he walked towards the Infected Zone portal. He instantly jumped out of his seat and blocked Kyle's path.

"Woah, kid!" he started. "Just where do you think you're goin'? It's dangerous in there."

"I've been here before." Kyle replied calmly. "I know my way around."

The man was hesitant to let Kyle pass. It seemed he could tell that the boy was telling the truth, but something was odd about it.

"I've spent most of my time here since the invasion began," he said, "and I haven't seen the likes of you anywhere since."

"I, uh, must've came when you weren't around I guess."

"I guess I'll take your word for it. What are you doin' here, kid?"

"Numbuh 2 wanted me to get data for Ben."

"Oh, you're friends with those two? Why didn't you say so? How can I help? Name's Coop."

"Kyle. Well, I kind of need to find this spot. And I don't think I could find something hidden within all this garbage."

Kyle held up a holographic visual of the area from his Nanocom. A blinking and glowing red marker indicated the spot that needed investigating. Coop leaned closer and examined it thoroughly, trying to recall memories of that area.

"Oh, that rundown shack?" Coop asked. "That place was _huge_! I almost got lost there. You sure you want to go?"

"I only need to connect to a computer terminal." Kyle responded. "How hard can one be to find in there?"

"Well, the problem is that most of the computers inside aren't working anymore. I only found one and the shortcut there isn't working anymore. You'll have to take the long way around."

"Fine by me."

Coop led Kyle inside the Infected Zone. The place seemed abandoned though one could hear the creaking sounds of the mechanical Fusion monsters roaming the other side of the enormous and mountainous junk piles separating half of the junkyard. Once they were at the small trailer park, the two headed to the southern part of the area where they sorted all the old cars. Coop then grabbed the rear of a car and began moving it aside.

"Whoever built it must've been an alien or something." he saidm. "The computer's language was written in weird letters."

"Well, Ben's an alien." Kyle said. "Or at least, when he transforms, he is. You know how it works?"

"He's human, just like us. It's that watch on his wrist, the Ultimatrix. My friend, Kiva, told me about it. I can't remember exactly what she said, but apparently, it's some kind of powerful weapon that lets people turn into aliens. Oh, got it!"

Coop finished moving aside the car and grabbed the handle of a hidden hatch leading somewhere underground. He then motioned Kyle follow him inside.

"What about that giant robot over here?" Kyle asked in a curious manner.

"What, Megas?" Coop responded. "He's my robot."

"So you're the pilot of Megas."

"Yup. Fun times I've had with him. I just wish I could use him to beat the crap out of this Fuse jerk."

"Don't worry. I'm sure we'll find some way to free him someday."

Descending the ladder, the two came to brightly lit corridor. Coop quickly pulled Kyle to the side the moment he touched the floor. There was something suspicious going on and Coop obviously knew it.

"Something's wrong." Coop whispered. "The lights should be off."

"You sure you didn't just leave them on?" Kyle questioned.

"I made sure of it. Plus the light controls are in another room and I'm pretty sure I remember falling a few times just to get out of here once I shut them off. C'mon."

From his own Nanocom, Coop drew a mechanical arm from its storage and attached it to his own. It paid homage to Megas as it was a human-sized replica of the robot's arm, complete with the flaming 8-Ball. Coop led the way and the proceeded down the hallway. They continued straight as they reached the first fork. Kyle looked down the other option they could've taken to see the ceiling had collapsed and prevented any further advancement. He assumed that was the shortcut Coop mentioned earlier. The two came across more forks, but like the previous one, all but one of the options were inaccessible without heavy labor.

They continued down a hallway until they heard a strange noise coming from one of the rooms. It seemed that something or someone was trying to escape in desperation. The door was locked by a powerful magnetic force. A keypad next to the doorway was the only way to unlock it.

"You know how to hack?" Kyle asked.

"Oh, sure." Coop answered. "This is cake."

Coop observed the keypad for a few moments until he suddenly punched it with great force, utterly destroying it and causing it to send sparks. The dents and damage left behind was considerable. Coop didn't even seem fazed. His physical strength wasn't something one should question. The magnetic locks then deactivated as the door opened by itself.

"Wha-What the hell, man!" Kyle exclaimed in astonishment. "You call that hacking?"

"Hey, at least the door opened." Coop responded.

The two peered inside to find another man around Coop's age. He was gagged with a dirty white cloth and had his hands tied together behind his back. The man was dressed in a dark green hoodie with a black leather jacket over it as well as blue jeans. He seemed to have spiky black hair, but his blue beanie covered most of it. His expression showed that he was shocked yet relieved as Coop removed the cloth from his mouth.

"Jamie?" Coop asked. "What in the world are you doing here?"

"Finally," he said in relief, "I've been trapped here since yesterday. Do you mind cutting these ropes?"

"I'll do it." Kyle responded as he began undoing the rope's knots.

"Who's the kid?" Jamie asked.

"Kyle." Coop answered. "I was helping him get to the control room for something that Ben needs."

"Control room? You sure you want to go, man? Your Fusion is in there."

"What!"

"I was on my way home when I remember I forgot something here at the junkyard. Well, I thought I saw you wandering around so I followed the guy. He eventually led me inside this place. I guess he noticed me following him. When I turned the corner, he was waiting there and knocked me out cold. I then woke up like this in this room. I've been trying to get out ever since."

"Explains the noise." Kyle remarked. "If Coop's Fusion here, should we get help?"

"It's nothing to worry about. It's three against one. I can guarantee you he didn't bring any back up with. He's in here solo."

"Fine with me. Coop?"

"Fine with me." he responded. "C'mon."

Coop continued leading the group deeper into the facility. Jamie had grabbed a pipe to use as a weapon. A few traversed hallways later, the group came across a humanoid shadow coming from a brightly-lit room. Peering inside, the gang found Fusion Coop working intently on the computer terminal. He was cautiously browsing through the data files trying to find something. The group stayed to the side of the wall where the Fusion couldn't see them.

"What should we do?" Jamie asked quietly.

"Well, we could always just sneak up on him." Kyle suggested. "What about you, Coop? Coop?"

The two saw that Coop had disappeared. They started to worry about where he ran off to without them until they saw the man was casually walking up to his Fusion counterpart without making any kind of noise. He didn't even have the slightest look of worry on his face.

"What the hell's he doing!" Kyl whispered.

"That's Coop for ya." Jamie answered.

Coop lightly tapped his Fusion's shoulder with a smile on his face.

"Uh, excuse me. I believe _I'm_ next!"

Fusion Coop was surprised and caught off guard as he tried to draw a weapon and quickly turn around. It was useless as Coop immediately grabbed the Fusion's face with his mechanical arm the moment he saw it. The tightness of the grip was strong enough to make the Fusion drop his gun. He was desperately trying to escape and remove the mechanical hand from his face as he knew what would happen if he didn't.

"This is for Megas!" Coop exclaimed.

Coop pumped a pulsar wave into the Fusion's body. It didn't seem to have any effect until bubbles started to form on the Fusion's skin. Their numbers were increasing to the point where it looked like he was boiling. A bright light that steadily grew soon began radiating from the center of his body. Once it reached its peak, the Fusion exploded, leaving gooey remains scattered across the room.

"That-That was fast." Kyle said as he walked inside. "That must be a powerful weapon."

"Well, it has is disadvantages." Coop said as his weapon immediately fell apart. "Once I use it like that, I'm defenseless . . . Well? What are you waiting for? You want the Nano or what?"

"But you're the one who-"

"Eh, I don't really like usin' Nanos. Megas is all I really need. Go on. Take it."

"Alright then . . ."

Kyle pointed his Nanocom towards the center of the room as the Fusion's remains were scattered everywhere. The device shot a white ball of light that created a whirlwind powerful enough to suck and accumulate the Fusion Matter. Kyle expected a Nano in the image of Coop, but was surprised to see a Nano of Megas emerge instead. He was amused at how a menacing-looking robot would appear cute in such a small form. The powers were listed as Eightball Fireball, Stealth Mode, and Garden State Slam.

"What, a Megas Nano?" Kyle wondered aloud.

"Coop didn't want people running around with chibi versions of him." Jamie answered.

"Yeah, I asked Dexter to program the Nanocoms to make Megas Nanos if my Fusion was ever taken care of." Coop added. "If it isn't me, at least let people enjoy to have their own personal Megas. Of course, the original will always be the best! Now, let's see if we can get the data from Ben."

Coop continued where his Fusion had left off and began browsing the many files stored on the terminal. Anything he could find was written in an alien language, but he was surprised at how far the Fusion managed to navigate through the data.

"Numbuh 2 gave me the coding." Kyle said. "I just need to connect my Nanocom to it, that's all."

Kyle placed his Nanocom on the computer's keyboard. The screen showed it was wirelessly connecting to it automatically. After a few downloading and loading screens, the screen showed a "Process Complete" message.

"C'mon let's get out here." Jamie said. "Going without food or water for a day really takes a lot out of you."

The group made their way back outside and began heading back to the entrance. Jamie ran on ahead to the Cul-de-Sac as he was desperate for food other than what Coop kept in his fridge.

"So do you mind telling me the story of Megas?" Kyle asked.

"Well, do you watch the news or read the papers?" Coop responded.

"Yeah, but they never said anything about where you got the robot."

"Well, it all began a few years ago. I was here in the junkyard lookin' for parts to fix my ride. I found the robot under a pile of scrap heap. It looked pretty worn out so I decided to fix it up. Got it real cheap too. The owner of this place sold it for five bucks! I gave it a sweet paintjob, fixed up the circuitry, and replaced its missing head with my car. Pretty cool, huh? Anyway, after a few joyrides with Jamie, we met up with a girl named Kiva. She said was from the future and came back to retrieve Megas since he was sent back here by accident. The problem was she didn't know how to drive a car since I altered the controls so she sorta just stuck around. Aside from that, she told us of some aliens that are gonna invade the planet and wipe out humanity."

"You mean Fuse?"

"No, some aliens called the Glorft. The bad thing was that they followed her here and now she wants me to fight 'em."

"Where are they now?"

"Somewhere in space. When Fuse came, he blocked most travel to and from Earth. They have to wait it out or else their fleets will get destroyed."

Kyle wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do, but Coop's explanation of Kiva was extremely confusing to him. Why would she want to warn people about the Glorft instead of Fuse? How could she come from the future if Fuse had absorbed the planet? He finally decided to tell the truth.

"Listen, Coop. A few days before the war began, I was helping Dexter with an experiment of his. An accident happened, and it sent me to the future where Fuse was on the verge of winning the war. I managed to escape and return the moment he finally did. I saw it with my own eyes. If Kiva came to warn you guys about the Glorft, then why didn't she warn us about Fuse? Humanity would've won the war if she came from the future, right?"

"Honestly, she was just as surprised as everyone else when meteors rained across the planet. Back in her home, there's no record of anything that has to do with Fuse's invasion. Heck, she was surprised when she found out we have talking animals. Apparently, they don't exist where she came from. Anyway, we're still trying to figure out why she doesn't know about Fuse."

"Ugh, this is making my brain hurt . . ."

"Relax, man. Hey, I just got the newest Super Sumo Slammer Online update. It's the biggest and most action-packed one yet, plus it has a gigantic overworld for online play now! I bet that'll help get your mind of this for a while."

"But Numbuh 2-"

"C'mon! He didn't say that you have to do it right away, did he?"

"Well . . . Hehe. Alright. It sounds fun. I'm in!"

* * *

><p>"Coop got taken out? By who?"<p>

"His double. He just showed up out of nowhere."

"Was he at least able to find the files we were looking for?"

"No. I just went there myself to pick up where he started. Whoever was using the computer after him reactivated security systems. I couldn't even take one step inside."

"Damn it. Well, just keep an eye out for more Plumber bases. The data we're looking for is split in pieces so those humans getting one of them doesn't really matter. We just need to get at least one before them."

"Keep some spies near Ben Tennyson and any of his friends and relatives. One of them might mention the location of a base."

"I've taken care of that. Now what about you? This mission of yours is extremely important. We need that person dead or alive, got it?"

"Sheesh. You don't have to remind me, but don't blame me if I fail. That place is full of you-know-what."

"Just be glad they probably won't fight back which'll make things much easier."


	28. Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends

**Chapter 28 – Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends**

**Author Notes: **

- Mac's going to be a teenager in this and a little taller than he is in the game. So the only kid so far is Flapjack. And Mac is going to be from Peach Creek.

* * *

><p>"You've got the data?" Numbuh 2 asked over the communication line.<p>

"Yup, and just in time too." Kyle replied. "If I didn't go and waited till later, who knows what Fusion Coop would've done with that terminal and what would've happened to Jamie."

"Yeah. By the way, that place is sealed up tight now, right?"

"The security system was reactivated, but the entrance is still unlocked. Coop said he was gonna weld it shut and have SACT agents guard it. It's okay with Ben, right?"

"Yeah, that Plumber base had been abandoned for years. Ben's grandpa just needed the old data stored there."

"What do they need it for anyway?"

"Ben's grandpa said that there may be information about Fuse stored somewhere in it. Since he's kinda one of the only people on Aetas who can translate it, it was one of our best shots."

"I see. So are there any other things you need me to do?"

"Nope. We're good for now unless someone else in Peach Creek needs help. Anyway, see ya later."

Kyle was lying down in one of the Cul-de-Sac's hammocks once again as Numbuh 2 hung up. It was already the next day after he had spent the night at Coop's house. He had a better time than he had expected. Even though he lost every match, Coop was still impressed with Kyle's skills. Coop even jokingly remarked that Kyle could even pilot Megas some time.

Activity within the Cul-de-Sac was as lively as usual. Edd was back to carrying out his regular duties with Eddy who was already yelling at him. Blossom had already left for Sector V as she was needed there once again. Kyle didn't see Wilt anywhere though. Thinking about it more deeply, Kyle hadn't seen him around ever since the two fought Fusion Wilt. Nearby, he saw Edd walking around so he decided to ask him. The Ed suddenly dropped the paperwork he was carrying from the surprise when Kyle touched his shoulder.

"Yeesh. Sorry to scare you like that." Kyle reacted as he began collecting the littered papers.

"It's not a problem." Edd replied. "I'm just a little overworked. What do you need?"

"Have you seen Wilt anywhere? I never noticed he was missing till now."

"He went back to Foster's. Remember what he said? He was just filling in for the vault storage guard. Oh! That reminds me! Do you mind taking this crate of supplies over to his home?"

Edd quickly went inside his house and came out seconds later. He came back holding a small technological crate. It was colored and glowing with sinister shades of black and red, the color scheme of Mandark Industries.

"This box came from Mandark." Edd stated. "I managed to take it before Eddy got his greasy little hands on it. He's always eager to take something from him and sell it for some ridiculously high price."

"What's in it?" Kyle asked.

"I haven't looked inside and I would advise that you don't either since he gets angry when people look through his shipments. But I assume it would be for something important as I heard Mandark sent a squadron of Mandroids to Foster's. I don't know why though."

"So where exactly is Foster's?"

"Northeast of here. It's located in the outskirts of town. I would get a Monkey Minion to take you, but he's on break right now and I don't know when he'll be back."

"It's no problem. I'm off."

Kyle followed the eastbound roads until he was at the town's border. Once there, he noticed an arrow-shaped sign pointing north that said, "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends". Looking further down the road, he could see there was a series of sign that said the same thing. Kyle could see a very tall building in the distance as he continued onward. He stopped in front of the dark and arrow-pointed fence to marvel at the place.

The house itself was quite large in height, as big as a mansion. Its length, however, was much smaller by comparison, but still larger than normal. The design and architecture was strange, but unique. The roofs and some of the decor were all colored brown while the walls, windows, and the remaining decorations ranged from red, orange, and yellow. Standing right next to the house was a tree even taller the house. It was practically a very large, black trunk. Kyle could only count four branches which drooped downwards. The tip of the tree had a series of branches that were just the same. To the left of the house was a fountain and courtyard and to the right was a large hedge maze which extended to the house's backyard. A large sign placed in the front yard clearly showed that this was Kyle's destination.

Kyle walked inside with the crate in his hands as the gate was left wide open. As he continued down the walkway, he noticed a young woman sweeping the front porch. She was somewhere in her early twenties. She wore her red hair in a ponytail which spiked upward diagonally. She wore a white T-shirt with a pink symbol, a light green sweater with a hood over it, a blue skirt, and light blue shoes. From a first look, she didn't seem like a bad person.

"Oh, hey there." she greeted Kyle. "What can I do for you? My name's Frankie."

"I came to deliver whatever's in this." Kyle replied as he handed the crate over.

"Augh! How many times do I have to tell that creep! We don't want-!"

She looked awkwardly at Kyle and blushed in embarrassment.

"Uh, sorry about that. We've been having arguments with Mandark a lot lately. Anyway, do you mind taking this to Mr. Herriman? Sorry. It's just that I've got a lot on my hand today. Mr. Herriman's office is to the right when you go inside."

Kyle proceeded inside the front door which Frankie had opened for him. The foyer had a pink and white décor to it and contained numerous paintings and portraits hanging on the walls. A grand staircase stood at the center as it branched off in two opposite directions to the upper levels of the house. There were two doorways, each on different sides of the staircase. One seemed to lead further inside the house while the other was clearly an elevator. The room to the right contained a grand assortment of clocks, all of them perfectly synchronized to the last second.

Now that he was inside, Kyle noticed the house was quite larger than it looked on the outside. Peering inside the room to his left, Kyle saw a vast and long dining room. After seeing that sight, he knew there was something wrong, or at least special, about the house. Putting these thought aside, Kyle went where Frankie had directed him. He passed through the open double doors and into a small waiting room. He came to another set of doors and slowly opened them to see a strange sight though it wouldn't be that strange if one took into account that this is a house for Imaginary Friends.

Sitting there, busily working on dozens of piles paperwork with a quill pen was a tall rabbit about the same size as an average man. Kyle could see he was wearing a black suit along with a skinny yet tall top hat and a monocle on his right eye. Another strange feature was his white mustache. He was quick to notice Kyle the moment the boy made the door creak open.

"How do you do, young man?" he started in a British accent. "Welcome to Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. Where good ideas are not forgotten. I'm Mr. Herriman, president and chairman of the house. How may I serve you?"

"I came to deliver this." Kyle responded. "Frankie said to give it to you."

"Ah, yes. Ms. Francis sent you here, did she? Well, let's see what we have here . . ."

Mr. Herriman stood up and hopped towards Kyle with his hands and arms behind his back. Despite his proper attire, he still didn't wear pants. He took the crate from Kyle's hands and placed it on his dark wooden desk. He carefully opened it and browsed through its contents and began reading a letter he found inside. He didn't seem fazed by anything so it wasn't anything too serious.

"Thank you for bringing this package here." Mr. Herriman said. "It'll be beneficial in the future."

"What is it for?" Kyle asked.

"Have you seen the nearby construction zone yet? Mandark has taken quite an interest in us Imaginary Friends. He claims that studying us might reveal a new possibility of repelling Fuse. And just like any man around here, I want that scoundrel taken care of as soon as possible."

Kyle was curious as why Mandark was interested in Imaginary Friends. They were practically the polar opposite of the scientific field like the concept of magic.

"Would you like a tour of the house?" Mr. Herriman asked. "We don't get many visitors with these aliens running about."

"Is it all right if I just looked around by myself instead? You seem busy enough with those papers already."

"Please. Go right ahead. Oh, and don't go wandering in unpopulated areas. Lots of the residents get lost when they do. Even our Madame has gotten lost for two weeks once."

"Will do."

"Have a nice day, em . . . Your name, please?"

"Kyle. Sorry about that."

Mr. Herriman sat back down at his desk and continued writing his paperwork with his quill-styled pen. Kyle quietly closed the doors as he left and went back to the main foyer. He decided to start with the second floor. He chose the right set and continued to the south wing. The hallways seemed to be endless, much longer than the outdoor appearance of the house. It furthered Kyle's suspicions of something wrong with the house though it didn't fell threatening in any way. Strangely enough, Kyle could hear the voices of the house's residents, but he found none in sight. They were all probably in their rooms of on the upper floor of somewhere else.

Kyle continued walking down the hallway. As he turned the corner, he met the sight of a skateboard flying full speed towards his face. Kyle was quick to dodge it by dropping to the ground the moment he saw it. The skateboard missed him by less than an inch as it got lodged deeply into the wall. Kyle was still gasping for some air from barely escaping a serious injury.

Looking the hallway to find the source, Kyle saw an Imaginary Friend running, or sliding, towards him. He was simply light blue in color and shaped like a stereotypical ghost though he didn't fly like one. He didn't seem amused either now that his skateboard was stuck in the wall.

"Hey you!" he exclaimed, pointing directly in Kyle's face. "Look what you did! Mr. Herriman sure isn't gonna like it when he finds out you ruined a perfectly good wall . . ."

"W-What!" Kyle exclaimed angrily. "You're the one who threw, er . . . whatever you did to it!"

"How're you gonna prove it? The only ones here are you and me-"

"Bloo, stop it!" a voice exclaimed.

A boy had suddenly appeared in the hallway. He was younger than Kyle, but he was definitely around his early teens. The brown-haired boy wore a white long sleeve shirt with a red short sleeve over it. He also wore light brown pants and black and white sneakers. On his back, he had a dark green backpack although it didn't look like it was filled with anything.

"Sorry about Bloo." the boy said. "He just loves blaming other people to get out of trouble. I'm Mac by the way."

"Kyle and nice to meet you too."

"You looking for a Friend?"

"Nah. Just looking around. I think I'm too old for one."

"That's what most people say . . . Anyway, want me to show you around?"

"Sure, considering your Friend there almost killed me . . ."

"Oh, shut up!" Bloo exclaimed.

Mac began leading Kyle around the house. He introduced him to many of the Imaginary Friends as they came inside the many rooms. Kyle was surprised he was even able to remember every single one of their names. The designs of the Friends were very diverse as there were probably more than a thousand of. It showed just how creative children's imaginations are. They ranged from simple, stealthy, two-in-one, imaginative, furry, fuzzy, fluffy, funky, big, small, young, old, happy, sad, good, bad, silly, nervous, helpful, and many others. Some weren't that original though as Kyle recognized some of them as direct copies of characters he saw on television when he growing up.

As for the rooms themselves, there was a variety as well. Most of them were made to accommodate the many inhabitants. No two floors had the same color scheme in their hallways so it was easy to tell them apart. Most of the endless stream of doors led to the Friends' room while the rest were just closets or more stairs leading up or down. A techno-themed arcade was filled with flat screen televisions, many videogames consoles ranging from the oldest to the newest era, and even a DJ stand with a dance floor to compliment it. It seemed to be a popular gathering place as it was almost crowded to the brim with the loud cheering for whoever was playing. The white laundry room was large enough to fit two stories of washing machines and dryers. Mountainous piles of laundry were also aligned across the opposite wall. The swimming area had a large Olympic-sized swimming pool although it was being as used for more fun-related activities rather than actual races.

"You live here?" Kyle asked Mac.

"Nope, but I do come here often." he replied. "Now more than ever. Everyone at the house has been needing an extra hand ever since Fuse came. It's gotten a little more chaotic since monsters have started attacking Imaginary Friends. Some have gotten so scared they ran away from the house to find better shelter."

"If you would've let me built my _genius_ invention, this wouldn't be happening." Bloo muttered.

"Bloo, how was a _giant paddleball_ going to help?"

"You know . . . to, uh . . . paddle them away! Dexter would've agreed if you guys let me go to Tech Square!"

"Yeah, right after your little adventure where you crashed the bus right through the front doors of City Hall and into the Mayor's office! You're lucky he's a nice guy or else we would've been stuck with paying that bill!"

"Not my fault Eduardo broke the steering wheel . . ."

"You're the one who-! Nevermind. Anyway Kyle, what are you here for since you aren't looking for an Imaginary Friend?"

"Double D wanted me to deliver something here." he responded. "Mr. Herriman has it now."

"Mandark, huh?"

"Yeah. Frankie didn't seem that happy when she saw it. You guys having an argument with him?"

"Just Frankie and the group of Friends who agree with her. I'm not sure of what I think of it, but I definitely know that Mr. Herriman is all for it."

"Mind telling me the story?"

"It's kind of long, but . . . a few days after the invasion began, Fuse sent a group of his monsters after some of us. We were on a field trip to the shopping district in Townsville to stock up on food and supplies since we didn't know how long this alien stuff would last. We picked a wrong day when a big amount of monsters began closing in on the area. Everyone panicked and barricaded themselves inside the shopping mall. We were stuck there until help could come. Eventually, Fuse's monsters broke in because the barricades weren't strong enough. The more brave people tried attacking them head on, but they were just knocked aside. Soon, one of the monsters grabbed me while we were running away and started dragging me away. Everyone then started fighting to get me back, especially my friend, Eduardo. He blew right through them with his horns. A lot of the Friends were surprised at how easily those monsters died from his attacks. It gave them a lot of motivation to fight back and they also got many others to join in. We soon managed to drive them out of the mall."

"After all that was over," he continued, "Mandark appeared out of nowhere and congratulated us. He said he was 'watching the interesting action' from the second floor. He explained that he was observing how the monsters reacted. Apparently, he noticed that whenever regular humans hit the monsters, they just growled and acted irritated, but whenever an Imaginary Friend hit a monster, it reacted as if it was in severe pain. He asked for a deal with Frankie and Mr. Herriman: let him build an institute across the House to study Imaginary Friends in exchange for extra protection from Fuse's monsters now that Fuse will begin targeting the House. Frankie was suspicious since she didn't trust Mandark so she rejected the offer, but Mr. Herriman agreed almost immediately. It was a deal since Mr. Herriman has a more powerful position than Frankie."

"So that crate was a box of supplies?" Kyle asked.

"Probably."

Mac pointed out the window to a medium-sized construction lot across the street. Mandroids, red and black version Dexbots created by Mandark and have a more sinister design, were building a large building. The framework was shaped like an observatory, complete with an opening for a large telescope.

"See that?" Mac asked. "That's where the institute's going to be."

"So that's it . . . Hey, do you mind taking me to the-"

"Eek! Get out of the house now!" a loud voice interrupted.

The nervous voice was coming from the house's old-fashioned intercom system. A random Imaginary Friend had grabbed one of the many megaphones scattered throughout the house in her panicked state. Loud footstep noises started to echo throughout the entire house from the many of the Friends running around. If one could listen closely enough, he could hear the sound of a gun firing at an occasional interval.

"There's a Fusion running around the house!" she continued. "She's causing chaos everywhere! Everyone get out now before- Eek! She's here! Run for your lives!"

"How'd a Fusion get in here!" Kyle exclaimed as he drew his rifle. "Wasn't Frankie sweeping the front door?"

"The backdoor?" Bloo suggested.

"No, we definitely have at least a few people nearby any of the exits." Mac replied.

The sound of someone or something was heard nearby. It sounded like a chicken cawing after being startled. Continuous sounds of gunfire were heard immediately afterward.

"The Fusion's after Coco!" Mac exclaimed.

Mac ran down the hallway with Bloo and Kyle following right behind him. They came to an intersection to catch a quick glimpse of Coco and the Fusion run by.

From what Kyle managed to see, Coco looked like some sort of bird-type Imaginary Friend. She had a regular orange beak, legs, and feet for a bird, but the stranger parts were the others. Her torso was shaped like the body of a light blue airplane. Even her wings were made to match along with a row of holes to represent the windows. Her actual head was shaped like a palm tree, the face being the trunk and the hair being the green leaves. Coco was running as fast as she could, continuously repeating the word "Coco" over and over again. It sound like she was panicking, but the expression on her face was completely neutral.

Kyle knew who the Fusion was the moment he caught the sight of two pistols. Fusion Numbuh 5 casually waved to him as she passed by. The group continued their pursuit of the Fusion. Kyle fired whenever he got the chance, but he couldn't do it much as it would risk harming the Imaginary Friends nearby. As the chase continued down the house, Coco began laying large toy eggs which released smoke screens upon landing on the ground. The eggs were accompanied by one containing an explosion to throw off Fusion Numbuh 5. Unfortunately, the Fusion managed to never lose any distance between her and the target. She continued following Coco until the bird had dashed out the house's front gates and headed northward. Fusion Numbuh 5 turn the opportunity to close the gate behind her and shoot it with one of her special ammunition to seal it shut with a glue-like substance. She waved back at the group trying to budge the gate open with a grin on her face as continued following Coco.

"Augh! What are we gonna do now, Mac?" Kyle asked. "Mac?"

Mac had disappeared. Kyle quickly scoured the area to see the boy was running alongside the gate. He was already far enough that Kyle could hardly see him.

"I'll go after her!" Mac's voice echoed. "Go get Frankie and tell her what happened! There's a broken part of the fence up ahead that you can squeeze through!"

"But you can't-! . . . Bloo, you get Frankie. I'm going after them . . ."

Kyle ran as fast as he could in Mac's direction leaving Bloo shocked at how quickly the events just happened. Following his order, Bloo began running around the house yelling Frankie's name. After a few attempts, she burst through a door armed with a baseball bat. The look on her face was obvious that she was already stressed out enough with her chores.

"What! What is it Bloo!" she exclaimed. "We have enough problems already with everyone panicking!"

"Mac just ran off after Coco and that Fusion!" he replied. "They went towards the woods!"

"W-What! Alone!"

"That Kyle kid went after them too, but he's behind so I don't know if he can catch up! We need to go after 'em!"

"But I can't leave with the House in a panic. And I'm definitely not letting _you _wander off . . . Oh guys, please be careful. Who knows what can be lurking in the Wilderness . . ."


	29. Prickly Pines

**Chapter 29 – Prickly Pines**

**Author Notes:**

- Not completely sure if I'll bring back Lance as a full OC later in the story or just leave him as a random minor character who'll never be mentioned/seen again. If I do, it might get confusing since Sym-Bionic Titan's Lance possibly might be added sometime.

* * *

><p>"Danger, beware of . . . Fusions . . ." Kyle read aloud.<p>

Kyle was standing at the entrance of a large forest. Nailed to a nearby tree was the large wooden sign he had just read aloud. The sign had originally warned travelers of bears and wolves, but someone had crossed the words out with ghastly green paint and replaced them with the word, "Fusions". This was the Wilderness, the vast, untamed and mostly uninhabited land that lied beyond Peach Creek.

A small log cabin and campfire site laid nearby, but it looked like no one had used them in a while. The road became dirt as it twisted and delved deeper into the forest. Upon a closer look, Kyle observed the indentations of footprints were still fresh.

Kyle had fallen behind after he left Bloo back at Foster's. He stopped when he came to the house's outer fencing following Mac's distant figure, but came into a predicament trying to squeeze through the small broken opening. His sleeve had gotten caught on a metal railing and it took Kyle precious time to try unhooking himself before accidentally tearing it. He had already lost sight of Mac the moment he got back up, but still pressed onward.

The log cabin was in a state of disrepair although it still looked habitable. Kyle could see the glow of candlelight through the dusty old window. Someone was definitely using it_._ Kyle walked up to the front door, his every footstep causing a creaking sound amongst the front porch's floorboard. He didn't have to knock as the door quickly opened before he got a chance. Standing there was a teenage brown-haired Urban Ranger. He was dressed in the regular attire though he wore a red headband around his forehead instead of the normal handkerchief. The scout's expression implied that he was surprised to see someone like Kyle at his doorstep.

"Hey, what are you doing here, kid?" he asked curiously. "Don't you know this place is dangerous?"

"Yes," Kyle replied, "but a friend of mine- er, two friends of mine from Foster's just ran off into that place. A Fusion was chasing one of them and the other one was following her. I fell behind and just got here. I thought you would've seen or heard them run by?"

"Ah, so that's what those noises earlier were. Hmm, this forest if huge so I doubt were can check every nook and cranny and expect to find one of them."

"They did leave behind footprints on the nature path."

"Yes, but what if they ran off into the brush or among the trees? Well, the least I can do is take you to the next occupied campsite. I know a group of the Special Alien Capture Team came by yesterday to perform research and cleanup operations. If there's still no sign of them, the farthest I can take you is Camp Kidney. Let's just hope were hear one of them along the way. Name's Lance by the way. Yours?"

"Kyle."

Buttoning up his vest and tightening his headband, Lance grabbed a wooden bow and a quiver filled with aluminum arrows and strapped them onto his back. Outside, he raised a bright blue flag on the nearby flagpole to signal that the cabin was temporarily going to be unoccupied and unattended. Now ready, Kyle closely followed the boy into the forest carrying his rifle in his hands. The area was dark. The numerous amounts of trees blocked off sunlight from reaching the ground with their leaves. Wooden lampposts brightened the darker areas and indicated the main path.

"Nice gun." Lance remarked. "You rely technology?"

"I guess you can say that." Kyle replied. "And I see you like to handle things old school with that bow and arrow. Besides, I only use this thing since it's what they gave me."

"Hey, I don't have anything against high-tech stuff. I use a rifle like yours quite often. It's just that I need something else to fall back to in case it suddenly stopped working."

"You have a point there."

"You said your friends were from Foster's, right? Are they both Imaginary Friends?"

"One's human, younger than me. The other one's an Imaginary Friend, some bird-like thing. And then there's the Fusion . . ."

"Something wrong?"

"Well, it's just that this is the third time I've seen her and the last two ended up with her escaping."

"I can't offer an advice since I've never seen a Fusion in this area, but I guess I can- Whoa!"

Lance had suddenly tripped over something lying on the path and fell flat on his face. Wiping off the dirt off it with his hands, Kyle recognized the object as Mac's backpack. It was in terrible condition with scratches all over it and a large claw mark slashed right into the backside.

"Whose is this?" Lance asked smacking the dirt off his clothes.

"Mac's." Kyle replied. "And judging by how we found, Mac obviously didn't drop it by accident . . ."

"Let me see that." Lance grabbed inspected the backpack more carefully. "Oh my- Quickly!" he shouted suddenly as ran off in the northwest direction. The worried expression on his face clearly wasn't a good sign.

Kyle followed Lance as he stepped off the nature trail and into the deeper parts of the forest. Kyle finally caught up when the Urban Ranger stopped and stood against the trunk of a large tree once they were a good distance in.

"What's going on?" Kyle asked, tapping Lance on the shoulder.

Lance held up Mac's backpack again and showed it to Kyle.

"This." he replied, pointing towards the claw mark. "We do have bears in these forests, but they aren't as aggressive anymore ever since Fuse arrived and their claws aren't big enough to leave a mark this big. That only leaves the Tiger Wolves, Fuse's monsters . . ."

"So you think . . . they took him to their den?"

"Not sure. This Mac kid either escaped or was taken hostage. C'mon, we're almost there."

Lance led Kyle along slowly, cautious of creating a sound and accidentally alerting the creatures of their presence. A couple meters ahead, the two peeked through a small bush into an open clearing. It was the end of the forest for the upper layer of land. Towards the west end was a cliff overlooking even more wilderness hundreds of feet below. The forest trees encircled the eastern half of the clearing like the shape of a crescent moon with Kyle and Lance located at the southern tip. A river flowing out from middle of the crescent divided the clearing into north and south. The semi-green color of the water clearly indicated Fusion Matter contamination. One could see the hints of a terrafuser or two beginning to grow. Across the river, the boys could see a cave opening leading underground, the beasts' den.

Lance quickly nudged Kyle on the shoulder and pointed towards the cliff edge once he got his attention. Standing there was a large lone creature cornering someone with no escape, Mac. The boy was shuddering with fear. The creature growling at him, the Tiger Wolf, bore more resemblance to a tiger than a wolf due to the head and shape of the body, but the movements were closer to that of a wolf. Its body was made out of pure wood along with some leaves, all of them dripping with fresh Fusion Matter. The beast was ready to pounce.

Before Kyle could ask Lance for suggestions, the scout was already aiming his bow. Lance fired his arrow a few seconds before the Tiger Wolf made his move on Mac. Within seconds, the arrow had directly pierced the creature's side while it was still in mid-air. The force was enough to knock it off course and out of Mac's way, but it was not enough to knock it over the cliff. Mac sat there, still paralyzed by fear, and stared at his downed attacker.

"Run, kid!" Lance exclaimed. "He's not gonna stay like that for long! Hurry and get him back here, Kyle!"

Mac slowly struggled to his shaking feet. He started running at a slow speed as he looked back at the Tiger Wolf which was not too far behind and more irritated than ever. Lance shot a few more arrows to keep it at bay, but it continued dodging and making some progress towards Mac. Kyle had begun running full speed and soon met up with Mac, grabbing his arm and trying to drag him back. It wasn't doing much use; Mac was exhausted enough already and the Tiger Wolf was a few feet behind them.

With no other choice, Kyle pushed Mac to the ground and the Tiger Wolf leapt at the two. Lance was still trying to reach for another arrow and wouldn't have enough time to shoot. Kyle quickly turned around and swung his sword as it was still materializing from his Nanocom. It wasn't enough to cut the creature, but the sword fully materialized at the right moment to pierce the creature's heart before its jaws could decapitate Kyle's head. The Tiger Wolf let out one last yelp before dropping dead onto Kyle.

Kyle carefully removed his blade as he pushed the corpse off his body and wiped some of the Fusion Matter blood off his clothes. He was relieved it wasn't that kind that would burn through. He helped Mac onto his feet again and the two rushed back towards Lance, but he still had a serious expression on his face.

"Hurry up!" he exclaimed. "That thing let out a cry for help before it died! More of them will be here any minute!"

With that sudden information, Kyle instantly told Mac to grab onto him and he piggybacked him as fast as he could. Lance quickly took the lead once they were inside the forest again. Behind them, they could hear the snarls and howls of the Tiger Wolf's brethren and their quickly incoming footsteps not far off. Up ahead, Lance noticed two oddly colored vines hanging directly in front of them, strange considering they were in a pine forest.

"Kyle, grab onto one of those!" he exclaimed.

Lance grabbed hold of one while Kyle and Mac shared the other one.

"Pull us up now!"

The vines then suddenly began pulling the three upwards into the trees, away from sight from any pursuers. The group set themselves in the branches, resting themselves against the trunks. Almost a couple of seconds later, they heard the sound of many stamping feet rushing past beneath them. The three didn't even attempt breathing until they could no longer hear anything else.

"That . . . was a close one." Mac said panting. "Thanks for . . . coming to rescue me."

"Just don't get yourself into something like that again." Lance answered. "Alright, kid?"

"I'll try . . . Say, how'd you know those vines would take us up here?"

"Because . . . it was these guys." Lance said pointing above.

Kyle and Mac looked up to see the leaves rustle from movement among them. Then three small figures descended and sat upon the branches above the other three. There were all animals although they walked upright and moved around like humans, anthropomorphic animals. They also wore brown-colored boy scout uniforms. The first one was an orange-furred Brazilian spider monkey and his smile obviously showed his excitement. The second one was a tan Indian elephant and one could tell of his nervousness and anxiety on his face. The last one was a white albino rhino and it was difficult to judge him; he was smiling, but one could just feel emptiness from looking into his eyes.

"Imaginary Friend?" Mac questioned.

"First time, huh?" Kyle asked him.

"No, no, no." the spider monkey said laughing. "We're not imaginary. We're real animals. Just like the ones you can see every day except we can actually talk and walk around and stuff. I'm Lazlo. The elephant's name is Raj and that's Clam. I take it this is your first time meeting animals like us?"

"It's alright." Lance said to Mac. "There's not much of them and they rarely ever live among humans. I do remember hearing that there's a group of them in Townsville, but that's all I know. Anyway, most of them live here since there's camps here just for them. I'm sure you've at least heard of Camp Kidney? Everyone who's never seen a talking animal always thinks Lumpus, the moose on the cover of those brochures, is the camp's mascot or something. Hehe."

"Cool!" Mac exclaimed in excitement. "I can't wait to tell Frankie and all the oth- Oh no! Coco! Fusion Numbuh 5 is still after her!"

"You mean the bird girl?" Lazlo asked.

"Y-Yeah! Is she safe?"

"We ran into her while we were hiking around the woods a while ago. She ran towards our camp. Our scoutmaster's assistant, Slinkman ran after her while we went on. Me and Raj couldn't understand, but Clam here said he understood perfectly. He said a boy like you was in trouble and we eventually saw you guys fighting that Tiger Wolf."

"Danger!" Clam blurted out.

"So Mac," Kyle began, "exactly how did you end up being cornered like that?"

"Oh, um . . ." Mac began nervously, "I was following Coco and Fusion Numbuh 5 and while we were running on the path, Coco bumped into that monster. She got so surprised that she laid an egg which let out a smokescreen. I couldn't see a thing. By the time it cleared up, Coco and the Fusion were gone. I heard them take off, but I couldn't tell where. I was busy staring the angry monster growling at me. It jump, but I ducked. Instead, it ripped my backpack off and I ran for my life. The twigs and branches managed to cut me up a little. Eventually, I came to the place where you guys found me. I don't know how long I was sitting there before you showed up. I was too scared to tell."

"At least you're safe." Lance said. "Anyway Lazlo, you said Slinkman followed Coco back to Camp Kidney, right? I'll tag along with you guys till we get there. Mac, if you and Kyle plan on going further inside the Wilderness, then you'll have to get someone else to guide you. Sorry."

"It's okay. I probably need to stay there anyway. I don't even know how far I could last before collapsing."

"Lazlo, is it all clear?"

Lazlo jumped down to a lower branch and poked his head through the leaves, carefully inspecting the area.

"All clear, Lance!" he exclaimed.

"Alright then." he said. "Let's go."

One by one, each member of the group jumped back down to the ground level. As Raj was descending to a lower branch, he clumsily lost his foot and fell on Kyle and Mac.

"Oh! Sorry!" he exclaimed in his Indian accent.

"Ow . . . It's alright, just be careful next time." Kyle moaned.


	30. Camp Kidney

**Chapter 30 – Camp Kidney**

**Author Notes:**

- (for people who have not played the game) Camp Kidney does not actually have a wall protecting it. It's just a regular camp with buildings and a few SACT agents stationed there

* * *

><p>"Well, here we are! Camp Kidney!"<p>

Lance and the rest of the group stood in front of the camp's gates as the Urban Ranger took an iron key from his shirt pocket and began unlocking the front gate. The camp itself had been converted into a fortress-like structure. Large wooden walls had been constructed along the open borders of the camp. The rest was protected by the very steep mountain ranges which were impossible to climb without special means. Above the front gate were the words "Camp Kidney" carved into a signpost. Lance finished undoing the last lock as a pair of SACT agents approaching pulled open the gates for them.

"Welcome to Camp Kidney." one of the said. "The Special Alien Capture Team is at your service."

Despite the number of SACT agents occupying the camp, the camp buildings were left mostly unchanged; only a satellite or two could be seen for acquiring signals or other information. The SACT conducted their business from tents they had set up. They were mostly concentrated near the front gates. The other side of the camp was mostly unoccupied, but still heavily guarded from the walls.

"It was nice to meet you guys." Lance said, shaking Kyle's and Mac's hand. "Sorry I have leave here. No one's scheduled to take my place till next week. Maybe we'll meet again sometime."

"Likewise." Kyle replied.

"Have a safe trip back!" Mac exclaimed.

Lance took off saying his goodbyes to Lazlo, Raj, and Clam. The SACT agents immediately closed and locked the gates behind him as well as head back to their original posts. They weren't willing to risk monsters breaching their defenses.

"So where you guys going from here?" Lazlo asked.

"I'm thinking I should head back to the Suburbs." Kyle replied. "I should tell Double D that I did what he asked. Although, there's still the Coco problem. Mac?"

"Well, I want to catch up to Coco as soon as possible, but she must be far ahead of us right now. I don't even know the direction she headed."

"Well, um, you could try asking Mr. Slinkman." Raj nervously suggested. "He was following her back to the camp anyway."

"Good idea, Raj!" Lazlo exclaimed. "C'mon, he's probably over at Scoutmaster Lumpus' cabin!"

Lazlo lead the group to the northeastern part of the camp. A large two-story cabin stood there. Lazlo walked up the front steps and opened the door, soon signaling the rest to come inside. The group followed him into the only room with the light on. As they approached, they could hear the sound of a man yelling and arguing with someone else. Peeking inside the doorway, Kyle saw two people. Just like Lazlo and his friends, they were large animals as well. They both wore similar clothing as Lazlo's uniform. The one who was yelling at the top of his lungs was a tall moose, taller than the average man. He wore a scoutmaster hat, obviously symbolizing his official position. The other one enduring all this commotion was a banana slug. His body was roughly the same size as Lazlo, but his long eyestalks made him look taller by comparison.

"B-But sir-" the slug started.

"No 'Buts', Slinkman!" the moose interrupted. "We can't have you leaving the campgrounds to look for some weird wild bird! I need all the help I can get! These Special Alien whatevers are giving tons of paperwork I can't possibly fill out in time by myself!"

"Sir! She isn't wild! I don't know what she was, but she definitely wasn't a wild animal."

"She's an Imaginary Friend!" Mac exclaimed as he walked inside along with the others behind him.

"Who the heck are you?" the moose asked angrily.

"My name's Mac. The bird's name is Coco. A Fusion showed up at Foster's, scared her, and began chasing her in this forest. I lost track of her when a Tiger Wolf attacked me. Then Kyle, Lazlo, Raj, and Clam here saved me."

"You boys took on a Tiger Wolf?" Slinkman asked.

"Not actually fight one-" Raj said.

"Not just one, Slinkman!" Lazlo interrupted. "A whole pack of 'em!"

"Well, I'm impressed that you were able to survive something like that," Slinkman responded, "but you should have known more about the dangers of those Tiger Wolves."

"Oh, c'mon, Slinkman! We were safe in the trees. Right, Clam?"

"Eh, right!" he exclaimed.

"Alright then." Slinkman said. "Your names are Kyle and Mac, right? Follow me outside for a minute."

"Slinkman!" the moose exclaimed as everyone else began leaving.

"I'll be back, Scoutmaster Lumpus. I promise."

Slinkman lead the five to the campfire grounds towards the southern end of the camp where they each took a seat on the logs. He probably wanted a place with less people around for some peace and quietness.

"Mac, why don't you tell me the entire story of what happened?" Slinkman asked. "Sorry about making you walk all the way over here. Scoutmaster Lumpus would probably interrupt you every chance he could get."

And so Mac began to the story in full detail of how he came here: Fusion Numbuh 5 attacking Foster's Home, his encounter with the Tiger Wolves, and his small travel to the camp. Kyle added the part of himself meeting Lance and that Mac would probably be in a lot more trouble without him.

"So Slinkman," Kyle started, "Lazlo said you went after Coco when you guys ran into her."

"Yes, that's true, but we never saw a Fusion running after her. Perhaps she was just scared out of her wits?"

"Do you at least know where she went?" Mac asked desperately.

"I'm sorry, but no. I followed her back to the camp. When she got to the front gate, she laid some kind of oversized plastic egg containing spring shoes which she used to jump over the wall. When I got the front gate open, I ran as fast as I could to the only other entrance. By the time I got there, I saw Coco running into the forest."

"That's a southern exit." Kyle said. "Could she have gone back the way we came and we didn't even know it?"

"No, that's impossible unless your friend can lay something in those eggs that'll allow her to fly. The southern entrance of the camp leads to a path bordered by two steep mountain ranges. The path also leads to a completely different part of the Wilderness. She can't possibly make it back to Foster's that way unless she could fly."

"Then where's the next safest or inhabited place from here?" Kyle asked.

"Hmm, that would either be the either the Squirrel Scout Camp in Acorn Flats or that Kids Next Door treehouse on Mount Blackhead. The path she went on leads to Leaky Lake. If she went north, then she'll run into the Kids Next Door. If she went south, she'll run into the Squirrel Scouts."

"Do you think you can at least get the SACT, KND, or the Squirrel Scouts to keep an eye out for here?" Mac asked. "I'm pretty sure I can't go on like this."

"That, I can do. You're welcome to stay in one of the cabins. Everyone except Lazlo, Raj, and Clam went back to their homes when monster attacks became more common. Or maybe you would like to stay with the Jelly Bean cabin here?"

"Jelly!" Clam exclaimed.

"I'm fine with that. Thanks." Mac responded.

"I better head back." Kyle said. "Mac, I'll tell Frankie that you're safe and about Coco."

"Oh, use the Monkey Skyway." Slinkman suggested. "There's an agent somewhere where those SACT members are gathered. His name's Spencer. He can take you back to Foster's. Tell him Slinkman sent you."

"Will do."

Kyle waved goodbye to Mac and the rest as he ran off to find Spencer. He could see Mac was already getting along with the Jellies quite well when he heard their laughter behind him. As he approached the northern part of the camp, he could easily distinguish the monkey minion's purple outfit from the rest. Spencer was lazily roasting marshmallows on an open fire.

"Are you Spencer?" Kyle asked.

"Spencer Spidermonkey." he replied. "What of it?"

"Slinkman said you could take me back to Foster's Home."

"Slinkman, huh? Sure, no problem. Grab on."

Starting his jetpack, Spencer increased their altitude till they were flying over the forest before blasting off towards the Suburbs. The mountains still towered over the two, but Kyle could now see over the vast distance now that the large trees were no longer obscuring his vision. Behind him, towards the northeast in the distance, he could spot the KND treehouse Slinkman mentioned earlier. It stood out over the large plain of leaves atop a tall mountain, Mount Blackhead, against the setting sun.

"Hey, quit sightseeing." Spencer demanded. "We're here."

The two were closing in on the Foster's House as they began to descend now they were flying over paved roads again. Spencer and Kyle slowly landed right in front of the front porch. Frankie, who was sweeping it, was shocked to find Kyle had returned alone.

"K-Kyle!" she exclaimed. "Where's Mac and Coco?"

"Mac's safe." Kyle replied. "Coco on the other hand . . ."

"What! What happened to her!"

"I lost her. Someone said they saw her go deeper into the Wilderness."

"Oh, I just hope she's all right . . . What about Mac? You said he was safe right? Where is he?"

"He's at Camp Kidney. We kinda got into trouble with some of Fuse's monsters, but we made it out alive. He got exhausted afterward so he stayed at Camp Kidney. He said he was gonna figure out where Coco went from there."

"Well, it's good to know he's safe. Bloo and the others were worried sick as hell about them. Thanks for your help."

"No problem. I need to get back to Double D now. Spencer, do you mind taking me to the Cul-de-Sac?"

"Sure, kid." the monkey responded.

Frankie quickly dashed into the house after waving goodbye to Kyle and Spencer. Kyle could hear the entire house in a small uproar of excitement from the news Frankie told. He turned his head back forward as he set his sights on Peach Creek.

Back outside the Foster's house, Fusion Numbuh 5 emerged from the hedge maze. She pulled a communicator from her pocket.

"Yo, looks like those two kids are still alive. I told you those wolves of yours would be useless . . . Whatever, the operation to catch the bird failed on my part . . . It's not my fault the energy in that place slowed me down and drained my energy! Now it's up to your divisions to make up for it. You better not fail . . . tch, imbecile . . ."

* * *

><p>Now back in the Cul-de-Sac, Kyle said goodbye to Spencer as the monkey flew back to Camp Kidney. Kyle found Edd in a small worried state. He was worrying as to what took Kyle so long. Kyle relayed the whole story of what happened.<p>

"That must've been quite an adventure." Edd said. "Thanks for getting that package there. Maybe we can finally get on Mandark's good side again. I'll see you later. Eddy's in one of his moods again."

Kyle then made his way back to Sector V. He would've asked Spencer to take him there as well, but he felt doing that would be pushing it. There was also the fact that the Monkey Skyway didn't allowed travel by night due to the risk of being mistaken for a Fusion monster and shot down. Once back inside the treehouse, Kyle rushed to his room, tired and more eager to sleep after a long day. He fell asleep before he knew it.

"You've been quiet lately." Kyle said in his mind.

"My. You are the one contacting me this time." Riyos replied.

"Well- er . . . It just seemed weird."

"I have just been having my mind preoccupied."

"The abandoned mine?"

"Yes, but just ignore it. It does not involve you for now."

"Alright . . ."

* * *

><p>In the treehouse laboratory, Numbuh 2 was busily working on some new technology as well as the lab equipment. While screwing in some loose bolts, an incoming call had reached the treehouse's private phoneline.<p>

"Hello?" Numbuh 2 answered.

"Hey! It's me!" a voice exclaimed.

"Billy? What do you want? _And how did you get our private number?"_

"It's terrible! Somebody's stolen my stuff!"

"And? Why didn't you ask the KND stationed in Endsville?"

"I was, but then Him told me to call you."

"Him? _Why would he tell Billy to call us? _Alright Billy, wait till tomorrow. I'll send someone over to investigate."

Billy waited for Numbuh 2 to hang up before he did as well. He was dressed in a white shirt with a large horizontal blue stripe and blue pants. He also wore red and white sneakers and a small red cap to cover his red hair. The only strange feature about this boy was his unusually large pink nose almost half the size of his head. Billy turned with excitement to face a tall adult-sized humanoid creature comfortably relaxing on his couch calmly drinking a martini.

His skin was bright red and his hands were dark red claws like a scorpion. He dressed in feminine red clothing with pink fluffs, black belt, and long legboots although the creepy chill he delivered from just his presence alone gave more of a male vibe. His eyes glowed a sinister bright green which accompanied his devil-like ears, evil grin, and curled goatee.

"Just like you said, Mr. Him!" Billy exclaimed. "Now the KND's gonna help me find my missing stuff!"

"Of course, child." Him responded in a high-toned feminine voice. "After all, I am _Him_!"


	31. Endsville

**Chapter 31 – Endsville**

**Author Notes:**

- the concept of the afterlife is going to be the mix of the Christian concept (Heaven and Hell) and the Greek mythology concept (the Underworld/Hades). Currently thinking of making "the Underworld" just a section of Hell that demons, monsters, etc. live that souls cannot access

- FINALLY caught up to _Unlimited Adventures_. Future chapters will finally be new instead of rewriting old chapters now.

* * *

><p>It was pouring rain outside the treehouse as Kyle awoke from his long sleep. A storm had moved in overnight sometime while he was in dreamland. The winds were powerful enough to sway the treehouse back a forth a little, but the foundations remained stable. Still in bed, he found a note from Numbuh 2 saying wanted to see him in his laboratory when he woke up.<p>

"You wanted to see me?" Kyle asked as he walked into the laboratory, still a little drowsy from just waking up.

"I'm really sorry that I'm about to send you out into in a storm like this," Numbuh 2 said, "but we're short-handed."

"I don't have to fight in this rain, do I?"

"I hope not. This is only an investigation mission. I was pulling an all-nighter when we got a call from a kid named Billy in Endsville."

Endsville was a very familiar name to Kyle. It was the city Adam moved to after his family left Townsville. Kyle had heard rumors about Endsville. Supposedly, a lot of weird things had taken place that city. It wasn't something relating to giant monsters like Townsville, but more on the borders of the supernatural. Some people have claimed that they've seen Death himself casually roaming the streets, but authorities have never confirmed it. There was even a supposed incident when evil demonic spirits had inhabited pumpkins, using them as bodies, and wreaked havoc on the city on Halloween night at the command of a pumpkin-headed. Outsiders went the next day to see if it was true, but they found the city to be in perfectly normal condition. The list of happenings goes on.

"Doesn't really sound like something we'd handle." Kyle remarked.

"I turned him down at first," Numbuh 2 said, "but then he mentioned that Him told him to contact us."

Him was also a name Kyle knew too well. He was one of the supervillains of Townsville and fought the Powerpuff Girls numerous amounts of times; he was known as the embodiment of all evil. Kyle held a particular dislike for Him the most mainly due to how he carried out his plans. He didn't usually attack physically, but rather psychologically, toying with people's minds. There were times when Him placed the entire city of Townsville under his mind control. Even though the Powerpuff were eventually able to awaken him and the rest of the city from the trances, it left Kyle with severe headaches in the aftermath.

If someone like Him were in a place rumored to be filled with things of the supernatural, then that couldn't be a good sign.

"This is where you come in." Numbuh 2 continued. "We need someone to investigate Endsville and why Him has been hanging around there lately. I have a SCAMPER agent waiting outside."

Kyle exited the treehouse from its base. The SCAMPER was waiting for him by the driveway. The pilot didn't seem to mind standing there and being drenched in water. He was just standing by the edge and staring off into the dark, cloudy horizon. Kyle quickly got onboard as the SCAMPER flew off towards Endsville.

Endsville was the next city to the north of Townsville and to the west of Genius Grove. Aside from the rumors, the city is best known for its nuclear power plant which provided power for the entire city and a partial amount for the other nearby settlements. The city was also know to be the birthplace of Mushookies, a popular cookie brand which was apparently created as a result of a feud between a tribe of dwarves and a clan of elves.

Kyle was a little nervous about going to Endsville. Not because of Him's presence there, but because of the possibility of seeing Adam again. They had kept in contact over the years, but they spoke only occasionally so Kyle knew that they had grown distant. He didn't know what he would say if he saw Adam again. All Kyle could think about was the incident six years ago when he tried to come up with a possibility.

"We're here." the pilot suddenly informed him.

Time seemed to fly by when Kyle was thinking to himself.

"And it looks like the storm calmed down a little." the pilot continued. "We're at the city's resistance encampment in the northern part of the city. Keep going down the road to the north and you'll be at the power plant. Keep going to the other way out of the city and you'll eventually reach Townsville. The Billy kid's house is across the street when you get out."

Kyle stepped outside into the light rain. The encampment's borders only encased a single street with six houses, three on each side. The SCAMPER had parked in the driveway of the north-most house on the western side. All of the buildings were typical suburban homes. It seemed that three organizations had occupied the buildings. The KND had the northwest, the SACT had the northeast, and the Monkey Minions had the southeast. In neutral territory on the sidewalk were two Dexbots guarding and managing a Nano Station connected to the Great Machine. The other three houses seemed to be still maintained by whoever owned them. The middle house on the western side had a chilling aura emanating from it. Just going near it sent chills down someone's spine. The south most house one the same side was still beautifully maintained. The front was decorated by a well maintained garden and lawn ornaments. Finally, the middle house on the eastern side: Billy's house. Nothing seemed wrong with it at first, but the tree to the house's right was suspicious. It branches looked like it formed a large hand, ready to grab someone when they least expect it.

Kyle walked up to the house's front door. Before he could even ring the doorbell, someone had already opened the door. It was Him. Kyle recognized those pointed ears and that sinister black goatee anywhere. Him was smiling with delight.

"Why, hello!" he greeted Kyle in a high, warped feminine voice.

"Him . . ." Kyle responded.

"You must the child Numbuh 2 sent to help Billy~. Well, he's not here right now."

". . . And where did he go?"

"Why, to the graveyard. That's where I told him his stolen belongings are~."

"Thanks. I should be go-"

"Wait. I didn't tell you this so you could help the boy out of your own free will. I'm doing it as a request. And I'll handsomely reward for you for it~."

"And what could you possibly offer me?" Kyle asked as he walked away.

"Why, how about being able to speak to little Daniel again?"

Kyle immediately turned around with a surprised look on his face.

"H-How do you-!"

"I'm sure he's _dying _to meeting you!" Him said in a deep, demonic, masculine voice.

This was one of Him's qualities. When angered or serious, he usually speaks in a deep masculine voice, but when he's happy or carefree, he speaks in a high feminine voice.

"Please don't tell me you're still ignorant enough to believe my real name is 'Him'." he continued. "I'm sure you're smart enough to figure out who I really am. That is, if you believe in the afterlife. Ahahaha!"

"What did you do to him?" Kyle asked angrily.

"Relax, boy~. He's not in my custody, but I am allowed to pull some strings with my friend, Grim, to allow you two boys speak to each other for a while."

"And what's the price for this?"

"Why, nothing. I'm offering this deal free of charge. All you have to do is help Billy get his stolen belongings back~. How about it?"

Kyle stood there staring at Him's grin. He was suspicious of what Him was planning. Still, the idea of seeing Dan again was appealing and tempting to Kyle. He even thought of bringing Adam along to see him.

". . . I'll do it." Kyle hesitantly replied.

"Shake on it?" Him asked holding out his claw.

"I'm sure my word of mouth is good enough if you really who you say you are." he replied as he walked off. "Eternal Meadows Cemetery, right?"

Eternal Meadows Cemetery, sometimes called Eternal Vistas, was the cemetery located in the outskirts of Endsville. It was the largest one in the suburbs and many people buried their dead here due to the amount of available room. People were just wary of the place during nighttime or dark days as there were many myths and legends surrounding the place.

After the invasion hit, the cemetery had become just as scary in the day as well as being dangerous. Fuse's minions had taken up forms resembling supernatural monsters. Burials now had to be done with armed bodyguards stationed around the area. The deepest part of the cemetery was also unfortunately turned into an Infected Zone, ruining and desecrating many of the graves that were located there.

"I never thought I had to see Him's face again." Riyos said.

"Was he really telling the truth . . . about Dan?" Kyle asked.

"Even I cannot tell of his true motives, but given who he is, he is capable of granting what you desire."

"Well, it's part of the investigation job, right? So I'll just find out when I get Billy."

Kyle came to the cemetery's front gates. Standing next to each side were two twin statues of a menacing depiction of the Grim Reaper. The statues symbolized that they guarded and presided over the cemetery. Kyle undid the simple lock, opened the gates, and proceeded inside. At certain areas, Kyle could see groups of monsters known as Spookas. They appeared to be made out of candy and white cloth. They resembled ghosts, but they walked on two feet. Kyle proceeded deeper into the graveyard, avoiding the Spookas and only fighting them when it became necessary. There was no sign of another person who Kyle could assume was Billy. Following footprints was useless since the Spookas left them all over the area.

As he went farther inside, Kyle began seeing a new type of monster appearing. This time, they were basically large roots which were twisted to form a body with a pumpkin as a head. Their heads resembled jack-o-lanterns, though their faces consisted of only evil expressions. Their numbers seemed to be focused towards the sides so Kyle proceeded directly through the center. Looking ahead, he could easily see the Infected Zone awaiting him. The barriers' glowing reach expanded to towering heights like a skyscraper.

Nicknamed "The Boneyard", the Infected Zone consisted of numerous floating masses of land like islands in the sky. Mausoleums, graves, and coffins stood out and gazed over the land below. One could see skeletal remains and rotted corpses dangling from above, held by only the hardened earth that remained. Some had already broken loose and were resting at the bottom of a large Fusion Matter lake. As for the Fusion monsters, they were made out of the burial cloths of the deceased. They had somehow tainted the silk to turn into a dark blue color with Fusion matter forming green outlines. They were named Bloodsuckers because their physical appearance mostly resembled vampires. They had the ability to levitate above the ground, but it didn't seem they could fly that high without aid.

Kyle, upon stepping on the warp portal, rematerialized on a small island in the Fusion Matter lake. Paths made out of floating coffins and small pieces of land were the only way to progress without having to swim in the Fusion Matter. Kyle took the westbound path and came to the shore where a ruined layout of graves laid. He quickly killed the nearby Bloodsuckers with a rifle as they flew towards him. After observing the area, there was still no sign of Billy. Kyle was beginning to think he never went to the graveyard in the first place.

"Ahead of you . . ." an eerie voice whispered in Kyle's ear.

Kyle immediately turned around, but found nobody behind him. He could definitely tell he didn't imagine it.

"Riyos?" Kyle asked aloud.

"That was not me." Riyos answered. "But I assure you that he means no harm."

When Kyle turned around again, a white mist had unexplainably appeared a few meters in front of him. Its shape vaguely resembled that of a human; one could make out the head, arms, and hands easily. It was floating towards a huge tree, as big as the Sector V treehouse, which towered above the entire area, beckoning Kyle to follow it. Once it was floating at the tree's base, it emitted a blinding bright light and disappeared once it subsided. Standing in its place was an active Fusion Portal. Whatever the mist did, it got rid of whatever was cloaking the portal from visible sight.

"He's in there . . ." the voice whispered again.

Kyle was hesitant in relying on this mysterious presence. It could've been a trap after all, but he decided to enter. Upon being rematerialized, Kyle finally came face to face with Billy who was trapped in a metal cage. If anything, the one thing Kyle couldn't stop staring at was his huge pink nose, almost half the size of his head.

"Oh, you must be here to rescue me!" Billy exclaimed laughing.

"Keep quiet." Kyle whispered.

Kyle began trying to figure out a way to undo the lock. It was no use; the cage needed a key for the final lock. From a dark corner of the lair, a pair of red eyes observed Kyle from the shadows. It waited for the perfect opportunity and immediately pounced upon Kyle while his back was turned. Kyle was pinned to the ground and the creature broke his rifle in half during the process. It was a Fusion, specifically Billy's. He was behaving much more animalistic than the other ones Kyle had faced. The Fusion even had claws instead of hands. It didn't seem he had one shred of human intelligence, relying only on animal instincts. Kyle struggled to knock the Fusion off him, but the menace held a strong grip. He tried summoning his Blossom Nano to use her Ice Breath stunning power. Despite the Cosmix type advantage over the Adaptium type Fusion, the Blossom Nano's power had no effect. Fusion Billy was acting too ballistic for the power to work. He did, however, let go of Kyle in order to attack the Nano. Kyle quickly withdrew the Nano before harm could come to it, making Fusion Billy hurt himself on the hard rock surface of the wall. The Fusion, even angrier now, leapt at Kyle who was currently defenseless. As he was about to swipe Kyle's face, a sudden light immediately stopped him. It was the same as white mist from before. It had engulfed the Fusion and held it in midair, unable to move. Kyle drew his sword, his only weapon left, but was unable to deal a finishing strike. His mind projected the image of Dan in the Fusion's place, helplessly cowering in fear. Kyle couldn't find himself able to do it.

"C'mon!" the voice from before exclaimed.

This time, the voice sounded completely normal and to Kyle, it seemed more familiar to him.

"You're seriously going to let something like _that _keep you from defending yourself and haunt you for the rest of your life!" it continued. "Do you think Dan would want you to live this way? Afraid and tormented by guilt that you shouldn't really be feeling! Hurry up and finish this thing before I lose control of it!"

With a newfound confidence from those words, Kyle tightened his grip on his sword and thrusted it into the Fusion's body. The Fusion let out one final howl like a wolf before dissolving into Fusion Matter. Breathing heavily from exhausting due to overcoming his fear, Kyle stared at the Fusion Matter running down his blade like blood. He no longer felt the fear of using a sword against another human being, or at least it didn't disturb him as much anymore.

Within the Fusion's remains, Kyle created a Billy Nano. His powers were Unstoppable Stupid, Inner Frat Boy, and Snot Rocket. Kyle also found the key to Billy's prison. The key was still gooey from the Fusion Matter, but it still worked on the lock.

"Thanks for rescuing me!" Billy exclaimed upon being freed.

"Him said you came here by yourself." Kyle replied. "You should've known better."

"But my favorite hat was stolen! No one steals Billy's favorite hat and gets away with it!"

Billy then instantly ran off into the Fusion Portal exit. It seemed he had just remembered something important to him.

"Aaah! Runty must be worried sick about me!" he exclaimed as he was being teleported.

"Weird kid." Kyle said to himself.

Kyle looked around his surroundings and waited a few moments to make sure no one else was in the cavern with him.

"You can come out now . . . Adam."

The white mist then rematerialized from the cave walls and formed a human boy's body. It soon turned into the clear image of Adam, now the same age as Kyle. He had hardly changed in appearance besides height. Adam was even wearing the same design of clothes Kyle last saw him in.

"So does this mean . . ."

"Yes," Adam replied, "but it's great to see you again after so long!"

"But what are you still doing here . . ."

"I was allowed to remain in the living world as a spirit. I could've gone whenever I wanted, but I wanted to tell you something before I went on."

"You wanted to help me get over the incident?"

"No . . . I guess you could call that an extra. Tell me, Kyle. Do you really want to know what actually happened on that day? What happened to that shadow monster? What happened to Amber?"

"I suggest you listen to what he has to say, Kyle." Riyos said.


	32. Truth

**Chapter 32 –Truth**

**Author Notes:**

**- **I'm not really satisfied with how I handled this chapter, but I'll leave it for now.

- No updates or new chapters for the next week or two since I'm going on vacation to Florida

* * *

><p><em>Six years before the invasion<em>

Kyle laid unconscious while Dan's lifeless body lied next to him. Adam was cowering in fear of what was to become his fate at the hands of the monster. Amber was still standing there in awe. The shadow creature flew at full speed towards the two. Adam began screaming as loud as he could.

"Barrier!" Amber suddenly exclaimed.

Adam uncovered his eyes to see Amber had held out her arm to produce an invisible barrier between her and the monster. Unfortunately, the barrier wasn't strong enough and shattered. The creature immediately followed it up by reshaping its arm into a sharp blade and slashed Amber's arm, tearing open a bleeding wound.

"A-Amber!" Adam exclaimed. "You're-! How are you-!"

"Light of redemption, shine forth! Holy Light!"

Amber produced a bright light radiating from her hand which immediately hit the shadow creature. It was forced into a small bonded state, but it was slowly regrowing back to its original size.

"Adam!" Amber exclaimed. "Tell no one of what you've seen here! If you do, you, Kyle, and possibly everyone you know and love will be endangered! Promise me this!"

"Y-Yes." Adam muttered.

"Alright, I guess this is it for me. I can't stop this thing, but I can take it someplace where it can't do any harm . . . Thanks for all the fun times we've shared. I'm sorry I wasn't able to save Dan or Kyle in time, but I feel this couldn't have been avoided as if destiny wanted it to happen. Goodbye . . ."

Amber formed a strange symbol with the glowing fingertips of her hands. She and the monster instantly disappeared into thin air like they faded from reality. Adam, sure the monster was gone now, quickly ran over to Kyle began to shake him. Kyle began to stir within a few seconds.

* * *

><p>"I thought you already went through enough that day." Adam told Kyle.<p>

The two friends were sitting on the ledge of the highest floating island overlooking the entire area. Despite the depressing scenery, the view was still breathtaking.

"I thought telling you about how Amber got hurt would make you feel even more guilty," Adam continued, "so I kept the truth from you and made up that part a light making Amber and the shadow being disappearing. Well, I guess there was some partial truth to it."

"So Amber was really some kind of sorceress or wizard?" Kyle asked. "Do you know what happened to her dad as well?"

"That I don't know. Sorry . . . I just wanted to let you know the truth before I moved on."

"I see . . ." Kyle replied. "So now that's two of my closest friends dead and one more that's missing, maybe even dead as well . . ."

"Don't say that. Over the years, I swear I've seen Amber's figure out of the corners of my eyes, as if she was watching over us like a guardian angel. I'm sure she has reasons to not be around us anymore, but don't give up hope you'll see her again."

". . . Thanks for showing up when you did."

"Hey, anything for you, pal. And seriously, you need get to stop using those contacts and hair dye. You don't even look like yourself anymore!"

Kyle smiled and even chuckled a little and removed his contacts. He threw them into the Fusion Matter lake and looked over to Adam with his silvery-white eyes again.

"Like this?" Kyle asked.

"It's a start." Adam remarked. "I guess I have nothing else to hold me to this world. And, uh, what about him? This guy with the sword?"

Adam was talking about Riyos. It seemed he could see the demon sitting in front of him directly in Kyle's place.

"Y-You can see him?" Kyle asked.

"There is the extremely rare case of a human being able to see things invisible to others." Riyos informed him.

"So you're the guy who killed Dan . . ." Adam murmured.

"Hey, he had no choice." Kyle told him, trying to defend Riyos.

"I can understand if that's the case, but . . . he's different."

"The creature that attacked you as children was the blood-thirsty side of me taking on a physical form." Riyos explained. "That friend of yours who casted the light spells had teleported him to another location. I can tell you that she had not been able to vanquish him as I would have sensed or felt it if she did succeed."

"So that monster is still out there . . ."

"Possibly. I can only sense his existence. That is all."

"And Kyle's body? Are you gonna leave him?"

"My being is already bonded to his soul. Besides, I have no interest in taking control."

"It's alright." Kyle told Adam. "If he did want to control my body, he would've done that a long time ago, especially that one moment . . ."

"Alright, I'll take your word for it. But I swear, demon, do something to hurt another one of my friends and I'll-"

"I understand where you are coming from." Riyos said.

"Kyle, I'll see you later. Take care."

Adam waved goodbye with Kyle doing to same as the former faded from into nothingness. Once Adam had completely disappeared, Kyle stood up and walked to a nearby grave. "Here lies Adam Compleo" it read. Shortly after the invasion, Adam had caught a rare and incurable illness. He was able to hold on for two weeks before finally succumbing to the effects. One of his dying wishes was to see Kyle again, but it remained unfulfilled due to the Time Machine incident.

Kyle used a nearby zipline to go to the Infected Zone's exit portal and proceeded back to Billy's house to meet up with Him. Just like before, the mysterious supervillain was awaiting Kyle's arrival.

"Ah, you've returned~!" Him exclaimed with delight. "Thanks for rescuing Billy! I had so much to deal with~!"

"Are you going to keep your other half of the bargain?" Kyle asked.

"Oh yes, I never turn back on my promises~. Grim, hunny! Come in here!"

A tall cloaked figure entered the living room from the kitchen. The only things you could see were his head and hands because his cloak dragged across the floor. He definitely wasn't human. Just seeing him and his scythe would possibly strike fear into the souls who looked at him. It was Death, the Grim Reaper, himself although Kyle found him a lot less terrifying as one would expect. He didn't even feel threatened by his presence.

"What is it dat you called me for!" he exclaimed in a Jamaican accent. "I thought I finally escaped this accursed city and those rotten kids thanks to Fuse! Dis better be good!"

"Now, Grim~." Him said, calming him down. "Is that any way to be talking to your boss? Now kindly let Kyle here, speak to his friend, Daniel, for a few moments."

"Fine, fine, fine." he replied as a clipboard materialized out of a large green flame.

It seemed to contain the names of a number of people's souls who Grim had reaped. He flipped through a number of pages and some kept on checking back and forth between two specific pages, confused about something.

"Him, you need to look at dis. According to the Underworld records, his soul is registered as missing . . ."

Him was awestruck at what Grim had said. He immediately grabbed the clipboard from his skeletal hands.

"What!" he exclaimed in his demonic voice. "Are you sure you remember spiriting away his soul!"

"Him, you know the Underworld records update automatically." Grim replied. "Besides, there's no way I could remember every specific soul I've reaped. There billions!"

"But how is this possible!"

"Riyos," Kyle said in his head, "what _exactly _did you do to Dan that day?"

"I am just as confused." Riyos admitted. "I was only told to kill one of you. Your friend's soul should have been sent to the afterlife. That is the normal process for you living beings."

"Should we tell Him?"

"No! We have . . . an unpleasant history with each other. If you value your life, which I know you do, it would be best not to mention me."

Kyle was torn between the two choices. He was curious to what happened to Dan's soul, but he feared for what Riyos was implying Him would do to him. He just decided to play along for now.

"Something wrong?" Kyle asked.

"Nothing that concerns you, boy." Him told him. "These are Underworld matters. You have no business to get yourself involved in them. I have to leave and investigate this at once! Grim, look through the records and see if there're more missing souls!"

Him vanished in a red cloud of smoke, returning to the depths of the Underworld. Grim walked over to Kyle and bent forward so they met at eye level.

"I guess I should be the one to tell you this." Grim said. "I guess Him didn't want to say it himself. Since he of all people wasn't able to fulfill his part of the deal, you are now officially free from having your immortal soul collected until Him can give the reward to you."

"So that means-"

"Yup, you're immortal . . . for now. Don't go showing off, kid."

Grim disappeared as well in a cloud of smoke leaving Kyle alone again.

"Immortal, huh?" Kyle said to himself.

"A blessing and a curse." Riyos remarked. "Unless this issue is resolved, you will end up as a sickly old man permanently on the verge of death."

"There's still plenty of time. At least I can't be killed."

"Do not forget that you can still feel pain. Being stabbed right through the heart or other vital organ is a feeling that no one wants to endure until a full recovery."

"I know what you mean."

"Grim?" a voiced suddenly asked from above. "Was that you?"

It was Billy coming down his staircase. Kyle was quick to notice the live Fusion Spawn sitting in Billy's arms.

"Uh, Billy?" Kyle said. "Are you sure you're fine with having a Fusion monster that close to you?"

"Who? Runty?" Billy responded. "He's harmless. He is my friend after all!"

The Fusion Spawn was certainly friendly. It didn't any signs of aggressive behavior. It was even rubbing itself affectionately against Billy like a cat.

"What happened to Grim?" Billy asked.

"He just left." Kyle replied. "Why?"

"Shoot! I was gonna tell him to get Runty more food from the store. Now I'll have to get it!"

"And why would the Grim Reaper listen to you?"

"Because he lost our bet." a cold voice replied.

Kyle turned to see a girl standing behind him in the frog doorway. She was blonde with her hair shaped like a crescent moon facing upwards, and wore a black headband and pink dress with a flower on it. Her clothes were rather ironic as she definitely did not seem like a girly girl. She gave Kyle the exact opposite feeling Grim had given, sending chills down his spine.

"And just who are you?" she asked with a cold stare.

"Mandy!" Billy exclaimed.

"Shut it, Billy! Go back upstairs!"

" 'Kay! Hehehe!"

Mandy looked at Kyle again as Billy ran up the stairs, leaving the two alone.

"I ask again: who are you and what are you doing here?"

"I came to see Him and Grim." Kyle responded. "Name's Kyle."

"I see. Peculiar set of eyes you've got there, Kyle. Almost makes me actually curious."

Mandy walked inside, closing the door behind her, and sat down on the nearby recliner with her eyes still fixed on Kyle.

"So Him and Grim were here, huh?" she remarked. "And Bonehead didn't even bother to stop by and see me . . ."

"You said something about a bet?" Kyle questioned.

"Oh, that. A few years ago, Grim came to collect Billy's pet hamster's soul. Billy didn't want to lose him so we challenged Grim. It turned out to be literally a game of limbo in Limbo. Grim lost and now he's forced to be our best friend for all eternity."

"So about Him." Mandy continued. "I thought he hanged out around Townsville?"

"He does." Kyle replied. "The KND are trying to find out why he's here."

"Oh, you're with those KNDorks?"

"Ally, really. I'm on my own. They just sent me here."

"Mercenary, huh? Well, if Him's somewhere in the city, then this alien invasion is getting much more interesting . . ."

Kyle stood there with a slightly confused expression.

"Oh, you never heard?" Mandy asked. "My resources tell me Him had never been spotted since the invasion began, not even in his home. Now that he's been spotted, I have some questions I'd love to ask him. Where is he now?"

"Something about heading back to the Underworld." he replied.

Kyle didn't want to mention the parts about his temporary immortality or Dan's missing soul. It seemed like Mandy had enough sinister intentions in her mind already.

"Then I'll just get Bonehead to take me there again." Mandy said aloud. "He has to come sometime. That or I'll have to send Cerberus to hunt for him again."

"And how did you get the guard dog of the Underworld?"

"Won him off Grim in a poker game. I already stole his scythe again so I traded it back for his dog."

"Jeez, this town's messed up." Kyle thought to himself. "I guess I'll be leaving now."

"Fine, whatever."

Kyle proceeded outside again. The rain had stopped, but the city was still covered by depressing dark clouds as he boarded a SCAMPER for Sector V. Numbuh 2 was standing at the treehouse platform, awaiting Kyle's arrival.

"Woah! What the heck happened to your eyes!" he exclaimed.

"Couldn't you tell I had contacts?" Kyle replied. "I thought the head of a technology department would be able to tell the difference." he teasingly remarked.

"Well, um . . . Yeah. I could. I just didn't know they were that color . . . Anyway, what did you find out?"

"Billy already went into the graveyard to find his stolen stuff before I arrived. Him was waiting in Billy's house when I got there. He told me to find Billy and I eventually rescued him from his Fusion."

Kyle withheld the same information he didn't tell Mandy from Numbuh 2 as well. It would probably attract unnecessary attention to himself.

"That's strange." Numbuh 2 remarked. "Why didn't Him rescue Billy himself?"

"He did say that he was busy with something else." Kyle answered.

"Yeah, but Him is one of the most powerful beings on the planet. A task like rescuing Billy from a Fusion should be no problem for him. Instead, he sent you. Something is up. Anyway, good job. We'll investigate this event ourselves from here."

* * *

><p>The Powerpuff Home in Pokey Oaks was lying in a dark night sky. The clouds from the earlier storm had not cleared up yet. The weather was not predicted to clear up till the next morning. Professor Utonium was busily working in his laboratory performing experiments with Fusion Matter using various chemicals. Dexter had assigned the Professor to be one of the main scientists in charge of researching any possible scientific weakness in Fusion Matter. It gave the Professor something to do now that Blossom and Bubbles were out fighting in the war and spending less time at home. He periodically stopped working to look at the family picture of himself and all three girls on his desk.<p>

"Buttercup," he kept said to himself, "I hope you're still happy . . ."

The phone began to ring on the laboratory's wall. The Professor answered it after the first ring had gone off.

"Hello?"

"Is this the Utonium residence?" a voice asked.

"Why, yes. Professor Utonium here. How may I help you?"

"It's the nuclear power plant in Endsville. I'm the foreman there. Some of these damn Fusion Monsters went berserk and damaged a few of our reactors. The levels don't seem to be critical visibly, but the monsters destroyed the display panels so we're asking if you could possibly come and make sure there's nothing wrong until we get them fixed."

"I understand. I'm on my way."


	33. Chemical X

**Chapter 33 – Chemical X**

**Author Notes: **

- not sure if I'll have enough motivation to working on this story more often. Some ******* asshole family stole my bag while I was in Orlando and it had some extremely personal and important things of mine and my parents inside it. And I have to work on my summer reading for Junior year as well so . . .

* * *

><p>"Pass me that wrench." Numbuh 2 told Kyle.<p>

Kyle and Numbuh 2 were in the treehouse's laboratory. They were still working on completing the LOCATOR. Kyle was only playing the role of the assistant. Overnight, he had gotten rid of his black hair dye and restored his natural hair color, something Numbuh 2 was truly surprised about.

"So what are you using this thing for when you're done?" Kyle asked.

"Did you hear anything about the missing heroes while you were in the future?" he asked back.

"Well, if 'dead' counts as 'missing' . . . Sorry, the only thing I learned, which I hope _wont'_happen, is Fuse destroying most of the world . . ."

"Don't worry. Now that we know about it and thanks to the future Mandark's information, we'll multiply our efforts to guarantee that it never happens. Anyway, as for the missing superheroes. A few days after the invasion, one of the heroes from the Justice Friends went missing."

The Justice Friends was the unity of the world's superheroes into one organization. Not every superhero was member as the Powerpuff Girls decided to remain in Townsville as crime there was non-stop. The League of Justice dedicated themselves to protect the innocent people of the world. They were mostly stationed in places where there were no protectors. Once a year or on emergency situations, they would call a meeting for a summit on Mt. Neverest, an extremely huge mountain which towered above the clouds. The mountain itself was located in the center of the worldwide map. There were also rumors that mountain was the gateway to an alternate dimension. Originally, only superheroes were allowed to attend the summits, but modern times had called and allowed for regular and influential people to offer their ideas to come up with a better decision for the people and the world.

"Which one?" Kyle asked.

"I don't remember his name. He probably doesn't do his work on this part of the planet so maybe that's why. After a team was sent to investigate where he was last seen, they disappeared too."

"Where did they go?"

"Somewhere in the Darklands. We think it's very likely that Fuse is involved."

The Darklands were the tropical areas between the northern and southern continents on the western side of the globe. They weren't originally known by that name, but how the invasion affected it brought the name about. The entire region was mostly bordered by tall mountains. The only way inside was through aerial means, by sea, or by attempting the rigorous and dangerous climb. The Darklands had remained vastly unexplored a long due to how one had to get in. It still remained the same tropical and volcanic area as it was millenniums ago, untouched by modern civilizations. After an amount of time since the beginning of the invasion, Fuse had heavily populated the Darklands with his most powerful monsters making it the most dangerous place on the planet. Only the most trained soldiers were sent there in order to try and at least keep the monster numbers minimal.

"This little baby's gonna let us find them." Numbuh 2 continued. "It's Plumber technology, but Ben's grandpa says I'm free and safe to use the KND's 2x4 technology to work on it."

As the two continued working, the phone began to ring. Kyle answered it since Numbuh 2 was in the middle of a very delicate process.

"Sector V." Kyle answered.

"Kyle, is that you?" Professor Utonium asked.

"Professor? Yeah, it's me. Numbuh 2's in the middle of somethig. Just hold on a minute, I think he's almost-"

"Oh, no, no. I was going to ask for you anyway. I'm in Endsville right now, the nuclear power plant to be exact. I heard from two local children that you met Him in this city."

"Yeah, that's right."

"Are you busy? I want to see you personally face to face if you don't mind. There's something I want to ask from you."

"Alright. I'll be there."

Kyle turned towards Numbuh 2.

"Hey, something just came up with the Professor."

"Go ahead." Numbuh 2 responded. "By the way, if you're gonna see the Professor, can you tell him that Numbuh 1 wants to talk to him about something?"

"Will do."

Kyle boarded a SCAMPER to Endsville. The city was pretty much the same as Kyle left it. He could see the nuclear power plant overshadowing the city to the north as he exited the SCAMPER. The complex was on an elevated piece of land with a slope leading up to it. The power plant had suffered too much infection from Fusion Matter that it unfortunately became an Infected Zone. Despite its current status, the place still continued to run with the workers being heavily protected by the SACT as the plant was a major power provider. Shutting it down would lead to the entire city without power.

The power plant consisted of three reactors, the main and larger one in the southeast corner and the other two standing next to each other in the northwest. Parallel pairs of rectangular office buildings were located in the southwest and northeast. Only one of the buildings was occupied. It was the most the SACT could do without leaving the workers inside the reactors vulnerable to attack. The rest of the buildings had the risk of containing Fusion monsters.

Kyle walked up the sloped sidewalk to the power plant. Up ahead, he saw Professor Utonium waving for him beside the entrance gate for transport vehicles.

"You're here!" the Professor exclaimed. "I'm sorry I made you come all the way here."

"It's no problem." Kyle replied.

"Say, peculiar hair and eyes you've got there. I've wondered what color they really were."

"You knew?"

"Just the contacts since I've made tons of them for my girls to use in certain situations. The hair, however, I noticed a small area of white on the back of your head when I last saw you, but I assumed that was caused by something else. Are you the only one in your family like that? Feel free to stop me if I'm offending you."

"It's fine and yes, I'm the only one. It's just a genetic mutation."

"I see. Now as for why I called you. I was making small talk to two local residents named Billy and Mandy on my way to the power plant and they mentioned Him had showed up here and that you spoke with him."

"Yes, but something seemed to be wrong so he hurried back to the Underworld."

"The Underworld, huh? It'll be difficult getting there without supernatural means."

The Professor was different from Dexter. Unlike the boy genius, he seemed to accept that there are things in the world that science cannot explain like the supernatural or the magical world, mostly likely due to his the Powerpuff Girls' many encounters with Him and other supernatural villains.

"Why don't you try to find Grim?" Kyle suggested.

"Grim?" the Professor asked. "You mean the Grim Reaper? I've heard he's spotted a lot in this city, but how am I supposed to find him?"

". . . Billy or Mandy, though more likely Mandy, can help you. Grim's bound to 'serve' them for all eternity due to a certain incident between them."

"Hm, to think innocent looking people like those two could bound Death to servitude . . ."

"Is that it or-?"

"Oh, actually I may need some assistance with the problem at the power plant. Some workers have recently claimed to have spotted a Fusion running around the premises. We also had an attack on the reactors yesterday. These two events happening that close together most likely cannot be a coincidence. Do you mind helping the SACT agents scout the area?"

"Sure."

"The second building on your left when you go inside. I'll to catch with you later."

Kyle proceeded inside the Infected Zone and began his investigation with the office buildings to his left. He went inside the unoccupied northern building of the pair. There was SACT agent nearby in one of every couple of rooms so Kyle as not alone. Kyle wandered into an abandoned office and found it with dozens of papers scattered across the room. He picked up the first few of the pile lying on the desk and read them to himself. Apparently, the company who owned the power plant was planning on expanding it, but those plans were put to a halt due to the alien invasion. It even had a drawn up blueprint for what the new reactor would look like. It was towering, about the size from the top of the Sector V treehouse to the ground below the platform. The reactor would supposedly be able to power the entire Suburbs due to the kind of machinery that would've been installed inside it.

There didn't seem to be anything else of interest printed on the papers. Kyle looked out the window behind him to find SACT agents battling two types of Fusion monsters. The first ones were dinosaur-like in shape. They were made out of parts from the power plant's ventilation system. The creatures had no arms and traveled in groups. Their main method of attacking was firing large balls of Fusion Matter from their large, circular mouths. The other type was more of a humanoid and beast hybrid. Fusion Matter had combined workers' unused hazmat suits for the body and various metal materials to form large arms. They moved like apes, using large gears for a major amount of motion. The Nanocom identified these monsters as Ventilators and Gear Goons respectively. The Ventilators seemed to be no problem for the SACT, but the Gear Goons managed to hold their ground somewhat, obviously due to their sheer brute power.

Kyle was about to leave the room when he heard the distant sound of book piles collapsing down the hallway. This was suspicious as no one should have been there since Kyle was the one furthest inside. Kyle thought about alerting the SACT agents in the other rooms, but doing so could possibly make the source run away. But there was also the possibility that it was a monster which broke in. Kyle decided to quietly continue. The hallway's lights were beginning to get dimmer. Only the eastern portion of the building was currently being investigated so power was mainly directed to it. Kyle had to use his Nanocom's flashlight feature to see. He began opening office doors and scanning the rooms with the Nanocom for lifeforms. After a small number of scannings which turned up nothing, Kyle noticed light seeping from the crack beneath doorway ahead. Pressing his ear against the door, he could hear the sounds of papers being riffled through.

"C'mon, C'mon." the voice muttered. "It has to be here somewhere."

Kyle knew that voice. He immediately opened the door to confront him.

"Professor?" he asked walking inside.

Professor Utonium leapt back from sudden shock.

"Oh, Kyle!" he gasped. "I . . . didn't expect you to come here."

"I thought you were helping at the reactor and coming later."

"I-I was. But this issue of mine has been concerning me a lot lately."

"What issue?"

"I have reason to believe that the Fusions attacking the reactor was only a decoy for something."

"And what does coming to an office in the darkest corners of the building have to do with it?"

"They could be after . . . my Chemical X."

"Is it that stuff you used to create the Powerpuff Girls? I thought that would be in your lab back in Pokey Oaks?"

"No, a more powerful and unstable version of it. One day, Mojo Jojo got himself a hold of a bottle. He had contacts in Endsville to research a way to increase its power. They worked in secret in the power plant, performing numerous experiments. When Mojo was finally taken into custody after one of his schemes, he confessed to what he did and we managed to find the chemical before any sinister mind got his hands in it. The bad part was that this 'improved' Chrmical X was too unstable to destroy and couldn't be safely transported outside the premises so we've had to keep it under lock and key."

"Then why are you looking through papers?"

"It was a precaution. Obviously, I would be the first one somebody would suspect. If I didn't know the location, I'd be useless to get information out of. The only person I know of who knew the location was killed during the plant's initial attack and any others are probably dead or they ran away somewhere. I hoped that one of them at least wrote it down in case of an emergency."

Kyle suddenly remembered something. He still had the papers which laid out the plans for the power plant's expansion in detail.

"What about this?" Kyle asked as he handed the papers to the Professor. "This new reactor seems really large. And it's completely off limits during construction. Perfect place to hide something assuming they moved it."

The Professor took a moment to read through this set of documents.

"Hm . . . It may be worth a shot." he said. "Say, Kyle. Do you mind going back? I need you to get my stuff so we can safely carry this Chemical X out of here."

"Alright."

Kyle began walking back down the hallway. The SACT agents, when he got back asked where he went, but Kyle just responded that he had a "feeling" and left before they could further question him. Kyle walked across the road to the main reactor. It was bordered by metal and electrified fences, clearly to keep the Fusions out. Two SACT guards opened the gates for him and another set opened the main doors for him as well. There were many workers moving in and out of the reactor, trying to keep it stable due to the last attack. The structure reminded Kyle of his first day in the future timeline though obviously a lot less desolate.

Inside the reactor, the SACT had set up a living quarters in case people needed it. Upon opening the door to it, Kyle came upon a confusing surprise. Professor Utonium was sitting down on a bed writing something down in his notebook.

"Professor?" Kyled asked.

"Oh, Kyle." he responded as he quickly closed his notebook. "How can I help you?"

"Weren't you just at the office building?"

"Office building? Why, no. I've only been in this reactor since I arrived here."

"Then who did I see at the- Oh no . . ."

"What with the worried look?"

"Professor . . . Do you know where that extra strength Chemical X is?"

"Yes, but how did you know about-"

"I think you're Fusion may be after it. I just ran into him and he was impersonating you. I'm sorry. I thought he was real and-"

The Professor silenced Kyle and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder before he could continue.

"Let's just go after him." he said winking.

Kyle nodded and the two exited the reactor through the back door. Down the road, there was the other set of office buildings, one on each side, and up ahead stood the unfinished reactor. The exterior was almost completely finished, but the interior was barely touched upon. Support beams, which had held up pathways connecting each of the reactors, had collapsed long ago. The Infected Zone's distorted gravity, however, kept the rest afloat but on a slant so they all acted as a slide starting from the unfinished reactor now. The SACT had destroyed the slide leading to the main reactor to prevent sudden enemy infiltration attacks from above. Ventilators roamed this section of the area, but the Professor was able to easily take care of them. He used a self-made pistol which proved extremely effective when its ammo was shot into the Ventilator's mouth. The Professor didn't even have to aim as it was done automatically.

The reactor's door was already open once the two arrived. They quickly ran inside once they noticed. As they entered, the two could hear the Fusion's footsteps on the metal surface above. Both of them began climbing the stairs though the Professor was falling behind from exhaustion. He wasn't used to this much physical exertion.

"Go on, Kyle." he said panting as he handed Kyle his pistol. "You need to stop him as fast as possible."

Kyle grabbed the handgun went on ahead as the Professor instructed. He was already tired by the time he was a third of the way up. The Fusion was already close to the roof. He would probably try to escape using the slides.

"Damn it. I won't be able to make it." Kyle said to himself as he leaned against the wall to catch his breath.

Suddenly, two of his Nanos came out by themselves, Numbuh 2 and Eddy. They both use their speed-enhancing and restorative powers respectively. In an instant, Kyle regained his stamina and was going much faster than before.

"Thanks, guys."

The Nanos gave a salute before disappearing inside the Nanocom again. Kyle continued his pursuit. Almost to the top, he caught a glimpse of the Fusion exiting to the rooftop through a small hatch. Kyle quickly did the same and immediately pointed the pistol at the Fusion.

"Freeze!"

Kyle had arrived just in time. The Fusion of the Professor was just about to jump on the slide to the next reactor's rooftop. He turned around to fully show himself to Kyle with an irritated expression. He was so close to escaping unharmed. This was definitely the Professor's Fusion, but he had a unique appearance. He wore a red lab coat which had holes for four tentacles sprouting from the Fusion's back. It was just plain disgusting that it also excreted slimy Fusion Matter. Clutched in his hands was a small cardboard box. Kyle assumed this was the Chemical X.

"I do have to thank you for helping me find this." the Fusion told him. "I couldn't have found it sooner without your help."

"Just drop the chemical and I'll let you go."

"I don't think so. Go ahead and shoot, but if you hit this Chemical X, there's no telling what could happen. Looks like we've come to a stalemate."

"Actually, I do believe we have you in checkmate." a voice said.

Professor Utonium had finally caught up and appeared on the rooftop. Looking at him, there wasn't the slightest hint of him being worried.

"What do you mean?" the Fusion asked.

The Professor reached into his lab coat and pulled out a bottle labeled "Chemical X".

"I believe this is what you're looking for?" he asked

"B-But if you have it, then what's this!"

Fusion Utonium quickly opened the small box and was consumed by an explosion. He was lying on the ground, mortally injured, by the time the smoke cleared.

"D- . . . Damn you . . ."

The Fusion melted into a Fusion Matter puddle and Kyle was able to create a Professor Utonium Nano. His powers included Professor Protection, Rocket Pack, and Utonium Zoom. Kyle then turned to the Professor.

"Professor," Kyle began, "how did you get up here that fast?"

"Why, your Nanos of course." he replied.

Kyle's Nanos of Eduardo and Edd suddenly appeared behind him. They even had shy and nervous expressions from leaving without permission. Kyle did not even notice that they had left his Nanocom. Professor Utonium grabbed the Eduardo Nano first followed by the Edd Nano.

"Eduardo here helped me recover some of my energy," he said, "and Edd used his recall powers to teleport me higher up using your other Nanos as a link and waypoint."

Kyle smiled and laughed a little as the two Nanos flew towards him. Kyle fell back, but he didn't mind. He petted the two before he sent them back inside.

"Cute little guys, aren't they?" the Professor asked.

"Yeah. Hehe"

"You're building up quite a collection."

"Technically, I did get a head start for four of them."

"Oh, yes. The Time Machine accident. Blossom informed me about that. But still, taking them aside, I believe that's the most Nanos I've ever seen one person possess besides Dexter. That also means you're making quite a dent in our favor in this war if you're eliminating this many Fusions. By the way, you have to tell me about your adventure in that twisted future sometime."

"Alright, alright. Haha."


	34. Charles Darwin Middle School

**Chapter 34 – Charles Darwin Middle School**

**Author Notes:**

- I'm making Jake and Lazlo cousins

- using "yellow" as the skin color for Asians in this story. Not intended to be offensive since I'm Asian myself

* * *

><p>"My, that's an impressive story." the Professor remarked.<p>

It was morning now after the two spent the night in the reactor. Kyle and Professor Utonium were sitting inside the main reactor's private quarters as Kyle recounted his time in the future. He had made sure to leave out the details of the encounter with Vilgax so he didn't alert the Professor.

"I'm pretty sure that's everything." Kyle told him.

"Are you leaving now?" he asked as he opened the door for Kyle.

"Well, Numbuh 2 was working on something important. He's probably expecting me anyway."

"Alright, I'll be seeing you."

"Hey, when are you coming back to Pokey Oaks? I'm sure Blossom'll miss you if you stay too long."

"Don't worry. A few more days and I'll head back."

Done teasing the man, Kyle walked back to Endsville and took a SCAMPER back to Sector V. He walked into Numbuh 2's laboratory and found him still working on the LOCATOR.

"I'm back."

"Oh, hey. Is the power plant working good as new yet?"

"Give it a few days. The Professor's Fusion showed up so . . ."

"So that's why you didn't come back yesterday. What was he after?"

"Some modified version of Chemical X."

"As long as it's safe. Say, have you seen-"

"Hoagie P. Gilligan!" a voice exclaimed.

It was Father storming inside the laboratory, clearly angry about something. His powers were surrounding his entire body in a raging fire which only intensified with each step he took. Numbuh 2 did his best to calm the man down before the treehouse could become a gigantic bonfire.

"Just settle down, Father!" Numbuh 2 exclaimed.

Father took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. The fire settled and disappeared as well once he did so.

"Listen! Someone in my teen ninja network has just told me that my Fusion was spotted in Habitat. I want you to do something about it!"

"You have fire powers!" Numbuh 2 pointed out. "Why can't you do it!"

"Because I can't stand the smell of that town! Ugh. The smell of those filthy animals in the air!"

Habitat was the town west of Endsville. It was almost isolated from the world due to a large mountain range encasing it. The only way inside aside from flight was a slope opening in the eastern chain of mountains. The town was home to a large amount of anthropomorphic animals, practically a safe haven if things got rough for them.

Father then set his eyes on Kyle as they lit up with an idea.

"Ah, Kyle. You and I don't have a bad history together. Tell you what. Do this job for me and I _might_reconsider the KND's offer to me about joining the war. I've been hunting my Fusion ever since I learned of his existence! It's a mockery and it won't be tolerated!"

"I do need you to do something there as well." Numbuh 2 added. "Might as well do it."

"Alright." Kyle answered.

"Excellent!" Father replied. "My ninja said that the Fusion was inside Charles Darwin Middle School, the Infected Zone there."

"The school's entire front yard is covered in Fusion Matter." Numbuh 2 explained. "You'll have to use the floating rocks to get across so be careful. When you're done, call me and I'll tell you what else we need done there."

Kyle headed outside and requested a SCAMPER flight to Habitat Homes. He could see the town just over the mountains as the ship flew over Endsville. It was a typical suburban town. What made it unique were the exotic trees and other plants which gave the tropical jungle feel to the town. It helped accommodate most of the animals that lived there. Kyle could see the Infected Zone out the right side window. The shield generators flew directly above the metal fence which surrounded the school in a rectangle. The school was divided into three buildings. Kyle could tell the one of the right was obviously a gymnasium. The other two were too similar to tell their purpose, but he assumed they were the classrooms. Like Numbuh 2 had said, the entire front lawn was submerged in Fusion Matter. Remains of what used to be there were floating directly above the liquid.

The SCAMPER landed right in front of the Infected Zone entrance. The SACT and Monkey Minions had set up their bases of operations in the pair of tennis courts right outside the school gates. The entire atmosphere was somehow more hot and humid than normal, most likely done to maintain the town's foliage and other qualities. Contrary to what Father complained about, the smell was barely different. Kyle just assumed Father was just being pessimistic about the town and its residents.

Kyle then proceeded inside the Infected Zone. Dexlabs had provided a hovering platform to allow people to access the floating land. Kyle carefully made his way across. Some rocks wobbled when stepped on, almost causing Kyle to lose his balance. As he reached the end, he came to a large mass with a palm tree growing from it. Kyle crouched beside the tree as he tried to get a closer look at the school grounds.

Large monsters taking the form of salamanders roamed around, crawling even on the walls and rooftops. The Nanocom named them Cylomanders. They were completely made out of motorcycles parts and Fusion Matter. Reinforced windshields protected their heads from heavy damage. The wheels acted as the creatures' joints and any other parts formed the rest of the body, especially their long tails. Their lives seemed to be bound by the motor engine forming the upper torso. Stopping its functioning would surely kill them or at least immobilize them.

"Need some help?" a voice suddenly asked.

Kyle looked above to see a talking, orange spidermonkey hanging from a branch by his tail. His height was just below an average teen's shoulders. He wore a dark green hat and a red t-shirt. He had a curious smile on his face, wondering why Kyle was here.

"I hardly ever see people come here unless they're in some kind uniform." the monkey informed him.

"You're not in a uniform either." Kyle replied.

"Hey, I didn't mean that it was bad. This place is pretty fun to use as a playground. That is, as long as you don't fall in or you're a really fast swimmer. I'm Jake by the way. Jake Spidermonkey."

"I'm Kyle. And 'Spidermonkey'? You know or related to Spencer?"

"Oh, you know Spencer? Yeah, he's my cousin. We were kinda close until he ran away to join that Mojo Jojo guy. Where is he now?"

"Camp Kidney."

"He's with Lazlo? Oh, that's great! Now I have a cousin from both sides of my family meeting each other. I gotta ask one of them if he likes the other sometime."

"What are you doing here?" Kyle asked, trying to get back on the subject."

"Well, I'm trying to find my friend, Adam Lyon. He hasn't answered his phone in a while . . ."

"You didn't report it or even call for help? The SACT agents are right there."

"I thought he wanted some alone time. We did get into a little fight."

"And you saw him go in here?"

"I thought I did, but there's no way Adam can get across these rocks even if he tried so I didn't follow the guy."

"Would there be any reason for him to be here?"

"Well, this used to be our old school before we graduated, but I can't think of anything he would come back for, especially with the place like this."

"Maybe I'll run into him if I go in. I'm looking for someone inside the school as well."

"Is it that shadow man?"

"You've seen him?"

"Yeah. Sometimes, I've even seen him with a girl with long black hair. I think they're Fusions since the Cylomanders didn't even bother to attack them when they're in plain sight."

"They might know about your friend. How long has he been gone?"

"Two days. I can show you where they usually go."

"You're not gonna bring something defend yourself?"

"Don't worry. I can outswing those lizards if things get rough, but what about you?"

Kyle showed Jake his sword. The monkey was awestruck by its appearance. It seemed to be his first time seeing a legitimate one.

"I did have a rifle," Kyle told him, "but it broke apart so I'll have to settle for this until I get another one."

"Wow! Finally someone around here who uses a weapon besides a gun! Anyway, grab onto my tail. Don't worry about hurting me. It's surprisingly sturdy from all the rides I've given people."

Kyle did as Jake said and grabbed the monkey's tail tightly. Jake and Kyle both jumped off the floating mass towards a tree with jungle vines growing against it. Jake grabbed hold of one and swung himself and Kyle to the next tree. He continued to do this until they reached the lower rooftop of the closest school building. Fortunately, there were no Cylomanders on the roof at the moment and none noticed the two's presence along the way.

Jake pulled Kyle to the northern edge of the roof and pointed down towards the entrance of the other building directly across. Standing right the front doors was a large statue of an anthropomorphic bullfrog. He dressed in a white shirt with a formal orange jacket over it, large brown pants, and glasses with round spectacles. Engraved on the concrete was name and title, "Principal Pixiefrog".

"Ah, good ol' Principal P." Jake reminisced. " Anyway, I always see those two go inside here."

"Have you ever followed them inside the building?" Kyle asked.

"No way, man. That place gives me the creeps."

"You won't even go for your friend?"

"Well, . . . if it's for Adam, then I'm definitely going . . . You're coming too, right?"

"Of course. We're technically both after the same thing right now."

Kyle grabbed Jake's tail again as the monkey quietly lowered himself down a vine hanging from the rooftop. The two took covered in a large bush, making sure the coast was clear. They then proceeded right through the front doors of the main building.

The school certainly was different from other schools. Like the entire town, the building had numerous amounts of tropical and exotic scenery. There were even flowing rivers or streams running right down the hallways. Sometimes, student lockers and classrooms were underwater. Directly above, attached to the roof by metal latches, were tubes filled with flowing water to accommodate students who couldn't walk or breathe on land like fish. Aside from these features specifically designed for animals, it was a typical middle school. Now that it was an Infected Zone, obviously many places had been contaminated by Fusion Matter, especially the water.

"Do you know where those two could've possibly gone?" Kyle asked.

Jake thought for a moment before coming to a suggestion. He began pulling Kyle's arm before the boy could speak.

"Principal Pixiefrog's office!" Jake exclaimed. "There must be something important like a Fusion Portal there!"

Jake led Kyle to the west wing of the building where most of the office and business departments were. As they reached the principal's office, Jake tried to take a peek through the dusty window. Kyle tried to stop him as it could have given away their cover, but he was too late. Jake found nothing and had already opened the door.

It was a typical office, a desk, some chairs, a bookshelf, and other essentials only modified to fit a frog's habitat such as the surface of the desk being a rectangular pond with lily pads on it. There was no Fusion Portal like Jake had thought unfortunately. Kyle and Jake began rifling through the drawers' contents for anything useful, but they turned up with nothing. Putting everything back where they found it, they left the room and closed the door behind them.

"Well, well, well . . ." a voice suddenly said.

Kyle and Jake turned to see Father's Fusion standing in the hallway. It was difficult to tell him apart from the real one. Father's appearance was already dark enough so the normal Fusion quality of having darker-shaded clothes didn't help identify him. What gave Fusion Father away was the normal warped and distorted voice that all Fusions had.

"What do I have here?" he questioned. "A dumb teenager and his pet monkey?"

"Hey! Don't call him 'dumb'!" Jake exclaimed. "And what have you done with Adam!"

"He's safe for now~." a voice said behind him.

Another Fusion had appeared at the other end of the hallway. Whoever she was copied from, she was of yellow origin and had long black hair. She wore a green sweater which was much too long for her arms, black pants, and black and white sneakers.

"He was pretty easy to trick into coming outside." the female Fusion continued. "All we had to do was tell him that his little friend was in danger~. He fell for it so easily, hook, line, and sinker!"

"Where is he!" Jake exclaimed.

"Now, now." Fusion Father calmly said. "We'll be more than happy to take to him."

"Just so you can keep us trapped, right?" Kyle asked confidently.

"You're smarter than I thought, but I still don't take back what I said about you. You should really stop meddling with our plans, kid. Almost every failed report we've been getting had you involved somehow. Keep this up, and we'll have to kick things up a notch."

Fusion Father produced a fireball in his hand and hurled it towards the two. Kyle quickly drew his sword to block it. The sword's properties allowed it to disperse the fireball into small harmless bits of flame.

"Run, Jake!" Kyle exclaimed. "Find a way out and get help."

Jake nodded as he began swinging along the ceiling vines towards the nearby exit.

"Oh, no you don't!" the female Fusion exclaimed.

She pulled copy of a KND launcher weapon attached to her back. She then fired a teddybear at the door. It seemed strange and harmless at first until the stuffed animal exploded and covered the exit door in a hard-to-break and sticky form a Fusion Matter. Jake had no choice but to go into another hall towards another exit.

"Get him, Numbuh 3!" Fusion Father ordered her. "I've got the boy!"

"With pleasure!" she happily exclaimed.

Fusion Numbuh 3 ran after Jake, fortunately leaving Kyle with only one Fusion to deal with in a battle for now. Fusion Father simply snapped his fingers and walls of intense fire formed at both ends of the hallway, preventing Kyle from escaping unless he wanted to suffer severe burns. The Fusion followed it up by firing streams of fire from his hands like flamethrowers, but Kyle was still able to block thanks to his sword's special properties.

"I can keep this up all day!" the Fusion exclaimed. "Eventually, you'll get tired and have to retreat, leaving you _wide_open!"

He was right, but Kyle still had his Nanos. The Nanocom identified Fusion Father as a Cosmix type and judging by how powerful his flames were, only Blastons type would have decent effect. Kyle summoned his Wilt, Dee Dee, and Buttercup Nanos and told them to stay behind him to avoid getting hurt. He ordered Nano Wilt to use Nothing But Net. Like the encounter with the Gigatech Wing, a net appeared over Fusion Father. He was quick to notice and responded by immediately cloaking himself in flames, reducing the net to cinders. Kyle then tried Nano Buttercup's Misfire to stun the Fusion, but he was too determined to win for it to work. Kyle was running out of options, he only had Nano Dee Dee left and she could either attack or reawaken Kyle if he got knocked out. He decided to play it safe and told the Nano to hide for now.

Fusion Father still wasn't letting up. Kyle had to lower his to dodge a stray fireball coming directly towards him. He then summoned his Eddy Nano to form a shield. Kyle gave him one of the Nano Potions he received from Edd to help give himself more time. There didn't seem to be a way for Kyle to get closer without getting hurt. He then remembered the school's water tubes and summoned his Eduardo and Megas Nanos. Their powers weren't meant for direct damage, but they should've been able to do what Kyle had in mind. Nano Eduardo went first as he let out his Monster Roar.

"You're using Adaptium against _me_, kid?" Fusion Father asked. "And here I thought you were at least smarter when it came to types or have you really been using those things willy nilly?"

"Only a distraction." Kyle replied.

Extending his arms to form a V-shape, Nano Megas fired flaming 8-balls from the palms of his hands. They both hit the two tubes directly above Fusion Father. The glass then shattered, drenching the Fusion with water and temporarily disabling his powers. The firewalls lowered and Kyle made a break for it.

* * *

><p>"Oh, little monkey~, come out, come out wherever you are! I just wanna play with you~."<p>

Fusion Numbuh 3 had chased Jake to the other building's west wing. She made sure that the Cylomanders under her control guarded all the possible nearby and unsealed exits. The modified KND launcher was still in her possession. She had two shots out of six left. The other four were used to prevent Jake from bursting through an exit door. He had only managed to escape to the other building thanks to an opposite set of open windows.

The Fusion was walking down the hallways, bursting down every door she could find and scanning the rooms for signs of Jake. She had gone through ten classrooms, two closets, and three offices until she began checking the east wing. Suddenly, Jake appeared in front of her, swinging in from another hallway. The vine he was riding on was covered in Fusion Matter, causing him to lose his grip.

"Found you!" the Fusion exclaimed.

Jake let out a loud monkey scream as he tried running away. Fusion Numbuh 3 carefully aimed and fired her last two rounds. The teddy bears exploded, trapping Jake in a web of Fusion Matter between two sets of lockers. The Fusion then joyfully skipped towards him as she discarded her weapon.

"Finally caught you!" she exclaimed. "My monkeys will finally have someone new joining them~."

"Please!" Jake exclaimed. "Not _that_! They're not even real monkeys anymore!"

"Oh, it's not that bad. It'll all be over before you know it~."

Jake let out another monkey scream as he tried to escape the web. Fusion Numbuh 3 just laughed, commenting on how silly he looked until she realized that Jake wasn't trying to get away from her, but rather, what was behind her. She turned just in time to see the large shadow loom over the two.

* * *

><p>Kyle kept running down the hallways with his Dee Dee and Eddy Nanos floating beside him. Fusion Father was not far behind in a literal hot pursuit. He was extremely angry that Kyle managed to escape him. He was now cloaked in a raging fire as he ran after Kyle. His every step left burn marks on the tiles and things around him either began melting or caught on fire. Even the temperature was turning into an unbearable heat. The deactivated fire alarm and sprinkler system didn't help either.<p>

The Fusion threw a volley of fireballs at Kyle. The Eddy Nano used the last of his strength to raise a shield as he disappeared inside the Nanocom. Kyle turned into another hallway just as it shattered. He didn't know what to do. It was either run in, enduring the insufferable heat, and attempt to stab him, leaving the sword to do the rest or continuing running for the nearest exit. Kyle settled for the latter and ran out the building's eastern exit. Thankfully, Fusion Numbuh 3 hadn't sealed it off. He was met by two Cylomanders which only scurried away when they sensed Fusion Father coming. There didn't seem to be an exit portal in sight and Kyle didn't have enough time to cross the flooded front lawn. He decided to risk it and hide in the nearby gymnasium. Kyle didn't see Fusion Father as he closed the doors behind him so he hoped that he lost him.

The gym was one large basketball court. Bleachers lined the western and eastern walls. The net mounts were retractable and hanged from the ceiling. Above the center was the large four-sided scoreboard, but there was something else that surprised Kyle. Dangling there, held only by the rope tied around his body was a teen boy with short red hair. He wore an orange shirt, dark green shorts, and brown and white sneakers with two orange stripes on each shoe.

"Help me!" he exclaimed.

Kyle assumed this was Adam, but he assumed the boy was an actual lion given by how his last name was pronounced by Jake. Kyle tried to find a control box or switch along the walls, but it was no use.

"How did they tie you up there?" Kyle asked.

"This weird Fusion came and-"

Adam was interrupted as one of the gymnasium's doors broke away from its hinges and flew across the room. Fusion Father then walked inside. He was surprisingly calm now for whatever reason, but his body was still covered in flames.

"So you've found him." he said. "But you still have nowhere to run. What'll it be? Let yourself be captured or suffer an agonizing, possibly slow if I'm in the mood, death?"

Kyle took a step forward with his sword in his hand, but was stopped when Fusion Father aimed his arm towards Adam.

"Try fighting back," he said, "and I'll burn him alive!"

"I can easily take care of this situation if you give me temporary control again." Riyos stated. "Although, you do risk the possibility of revealing our secret."

"Adam!" a voice exclaimed.

Jake had appeared from the line of windows above the western bleachers. He crossed the ceiling using the roots like monkey bars and jumped towards the rope hold Adam. Grabbing on, he began untying the knot.

"What the! How the hell did you escape Numbuh 3!" Fusion Father exclaimed.

He threw a fireball at the two, but Jake managed to move the rope, and essentially Adam, out of the way by swinging like Adam and the rope was a tire swing.

"Great! Now what'll we- Augh!"

Kyle had used his Numbuh 2 Nano's Fast Feet to quickly run up and stab Fusion Father in the stomach without him noticing. Kyle stepped back as he left the sword to kill the Fusion from the inside.

"I . . . lost?"

Fusion Father fell to his knees and dissolved into Fusion Matter. Kyle tried to create a new Nano, but the screen displayed a message saying that creating a Nano from the remains was currently impossible. Seeing as there was nothing he could about it, he picked up his sword and walked over to Jake who was helping Adam to the floor.

"Thanks, Jake." Adam said as he hugged his best friend.

"It's no problem."

"And you too." he said to Kyle.

"Hey, anything to see two friends together again." Kyle replied. "Jake, how did you get away from that other Fusion?"

"Oh . . . I had help." he replied. "I got caught and wouldn't have been able to get away if it hadn't been for him."

"Who?"

"Why, His Infernal Majesty, of course." someone said cheeringly behind them.

Him appeared from a red smoke with a congratulatory clapping.

"I was about to help you deal with that troublesome man," he said, "but it seemed that you were able to handle it quite well without me~."

"What are you doing here?" Kyle asked.

"Is that any way to treat the being who essentially saved all three of you?"

"I still ask again."

"Fine. Have it your way. I was on my way to investigate something in this school when I happened upon your little monkey friend corner by a Fusion girl, specifically this one."

Him produced another cloud of red smoke beside himself. Once it disappeared, standing in its place was Fusion Numbuh 3. She just stood there as if she were in a trance. It seemed Him had used his mind control powers on her.

"Fusion minds are extremely difficult ones to crack and place under my control." Him said. "It's why I was so late in arriving here."

"Then why did you place this one under your control instead of killing her?" Kyle asked.

"The same reason to why I purposely sent you and Billy to the cemetery, my dear child~."

Him bent over to Fusion Numbuh 3's ear.

"Now, child. Where is that grotesque double of mine?"

"In . . . In . . . In Eternal Meadows' catacombs." she slowly replied.

"Excellent!" Him exclaimed as he stabbed Fusion Numbuh 3 with his claw, immediately killing her. "Kyle. I shall see you tomorrow night! Ahahaha!"


	35. Preparation

**Chapter 35 – Preparation**

**Author Notes:**

- you use word like "dat", "dis", and "der" to convey a Jamaican accent, right?

- I'm not sure if Ceberus had two German Shepherd or Doberman heads, but I'm going with the latter

- that crossover special of Kids Next Door and Billy and Mandy isn't going to be canon in this universe if you're wondering why the KND aren't hounding down Mandy or recognizing Grim

* * *

><p>"Him has a Fusion!" Numbuh 2 exclaimed over the communication line.<p>

Kyle was sitting on a bench outside Habitat's Infected Zone, speaking with a live hologram of Numbuh 2. Jake and Adam were also with him, curious about what was happening, especially Adam.

"I think that's the guy who kidnapped me." Adam said. "I was heading to Jake's home at the zoo to apologize about our fight when I blanked out. When I woke up, he was already tying me up and left those other two freaks to watch me."

"Must be his demonic possession powers." Kyle told him. "Jake did say he saw you go inside by yourself."

"But how the heck was Fuse able to create a Fusion of Him?" Numbuh 2 asked. "We all know what he is. Is replicating someone like him even possible?"

"Maybe you should try asking him." Jake suggested.

"And where did you think we're supposed to find him?"

". . . Him said he would be expecting me at the graveyard tomorrow night." Kyle answered.

"Eternal Meadows? Why there?"

"Oh, I forgot. Anybody in your sector go by the codename, 'Numbuh 3'?"

"Kuki? Yeah, but she supposed to be at our treehouse base at Mount Blackhead."

"Her Fusion showed up with Father's. Him got her to tell us where Fusion Him was hiding: inside the catacombs."

"He must be planning something big!" Jake exclaimed.

"I still don't like the sound of this . . ." Numbuh 2 muttered.

"I think you guys should check it out." Adam told them. "I mean, it's obvious you guys and Him are after the same thing."

"Good idea, Adam!" Jake exclaimed as he hoped onto Adam's shoulders. "We can go with them!"

"Jake, what can we do? We can't fight."

"You and Kyle saw me rescue you. That has to count for something!"

"Yeah, but Kyle was the one to finish off the Fusion. I'm sorry, Jake. It's just that I don't think we can actually do something like this."

"You're doubting yourself." Kyle stated.

"That's right." Numbuh 2 added. "Just look at the kids who've joined the Kids Next Door, some as early as the first grade. Some came in weak and cowardly and some still are, but they're still out there, fighting to protect those they love."

"See, Adam?" Jake asked. "C'mon! This could turn into the funnest thing we've ever done!"

". . . Alright." Adam hesitantly replied. "I guess we can try."

"Hooray!"

"Who knows? Maybe we can get Windsor and the others . . . but we're starting out small. I'm not taking on someone like a Fusion of Him!"

"Glad to hear that." Numbuh 2 said. "We don't have KND squads in Habitat besides SCAMPER transportation, but you can always head on over to Endsville. We're always looking for more help. And you don't necessarily have to join the Kids Next Door if you're thinking it."

"Do you want me to head back now?" Kyle asked. "Or do you still want me to do that thing for you?"

"Oh, forget about that. I can get Blossom or someone else to do it later. Head on back here. We need to figure out this whole thing with the others."

"Alright. I'm on my way."

Kyle looked at Jake and Adam. Jake was hugging Adam with excitement, happy that he said yes. Adam was laughing as he tried to push his friend off of him. Kyle couldn't help but laugh a little. He sort of envied a close friendship like that, one that was taken away from him.

"I'll see you guys later." Kyle said as he walked away.

"See you later, Kyle!" they both replied.

Kyle took a SCAMPER back to Sector V and immediately headed to the treehouse laboratory. By the time he arrived, Numbuh 2 was setting up and multi-way communication line on the monitor. Blossom and Numbuh 5 were also there with him.

"This is Numbuh 2. Is everyone online yet?"

"Ben here."

"Dexter."

"Hi there. Professor Utonium here."

"Double D. Greetings everyone!"

"Coop's ready to rock and roll!"

One by one, they all appeared on the large screen, taking equal portions like a star. Coop's visual broadcast seemed a little buggy as it lagged at occasional intervals, but his voice could still be easily heard. Professor Utonium was streaming his feed from the power plant.

"I assuming everyone read their messages?" Numbuh 2 asked.

"I got it." Ben replied. "We've got Fusion Him's location, right?"

"I still can't believe he has a Fusion." Edd remarked.

"I am too." the Professor added. "I wonder what Fuse is truly capable of at full power . . ."

"In any case," Dexter said, "we cannot let this specific Fusion to continue running around. He's more dangerous than even the Elites."

"I have a question." Coop stated. "Why am I here? You guys know Megas is trapped in Fusion Matter. We've tried everything to free him."

"You still have those schematics for that replica Megas arm weapon of yours, correct?"

"Yeah, but they fall apart if you do anything other than physically beat the crap out of someone."

"Don't worry. I can work that out easily. I'll be able to mass produce enough overnight."

"Send the blueprints over to me." Edd said. "The Cul-de-Sac has a faster data transfer network to Dexlabs."

"Alright, I'll give them to Jamie."

"What about the possibility of Fuse creating copies of this weapon?" the Professor questioned.

"Fusion Coop has already seen and felt its power." Numbuh 2 replied. "It's no doubt Fuse is already making one so we might as well finish our own."

"How exactly are we gonna take care of this?" Ben asked. "We sendin' an army?"

"We've got all our available squads of Kids Next Door together." Numbuh 5 replied.

"Do you think you can get the SACT, Plumbers, and maybe Providence?" Blossom asked.

"I can definitely get Grandpa Max to send some Plumbers to help. The SACT will be harder for me to convince considering who I am. You'll probably need someone else. Providence is a definite no. They're already busy enough dealing with EVOs and the invasion. I can try getting Rex, but who knows if they'll need him."

"What about Offworld Plaza? Don't you need to stay?"

"Kevin can cover for me while I'm gone."

"How's Townsville right now? I was thinking Bubbles could join as well."

"Can't. We'll need her to help with Townsville Park since Grandpa Max will be sending some of his Plumber forces. Unless you wanna exchange them for her?"

"No. That's okay."

"What about me?" the Professor asked. "I'm sure there was a purpose for calling me."

"We just need you to keep an eye on the power plant for now and tighten defenses. The Fusion's practically next door from where you are."

"Aren't you guys making this kinda overkill?" Coop asked. "Him is showing up, right? So it should be even between those two."

"We can't assume that." Dexter told him. "Him is unpredictable so it's possible he wants other people to do the work themselves. We'll need as many available forces we can get. There're always the graveyard monsters most likely under the Fusion's control."

"Alright, I think that's everything." Numbuh 5 said. "We'll spend the rest of our time preparing for the battle."

"We'll meet at sunset tomorrow." Blossom addressed.

The five disconnected as they began to carry out their assignments, leaving Numbuh 2, Numbuh. 5, Blossom, and Kyle together.

"Kyle, you're coming too, right?" Numbuh 2 asked.

"Yeah, but are we ready for this?"

"Don't sweat it!" Blossom exclaimed. "You've got all your friends with you. No way we'll let each other down!"

". . . Heh. I guess you're right."

Numbuh 5 laughed as she left the room.

"I'll see if I can get Sticky to join." she said. "Though it would be much better if we still had his ship."

Kyle then turned to Blossom. There was a question that bothered him.

"Blossom. What did you and the Professor talk about? Why didn't you say anything about Buttercup?"

"Wait. You didn't tell the Professor?" Numbuh 2 asked. "He's Buttercup's and your own dad!"

Blossom stood silent for a minute before speaking again.

"I . . . I wanted to see it for myself before showing the others, but . . . how I saw her . . . I just couldn't bring myself to tell them. I haven't told Bubbles either."

"What about Buttercup made you not want to-"

Kyle stopped Numbuh 2 before he could finish. The look on his face made it clear he saw that Blossom didn't want to talk about the story further.

"I'm sorry for bringing it up, Blossom." Kyle told her.

Blossom forced a smile onto her face, trying to hide her real feelings.

"It's alright!" she exclaimed. "I'm glad to get that out of my system, but please. Don't tell Bubbles or the Professor."

"I promise. Numbuh 2?"

"Me too." he added. "Do you want me to tell Ben, Dexter, and Double D not to do it as well? They know about Buttercup as well."

"Please." Blossom insisted. "I think I can trust them."

Blossom quickly left the room before the subject could have been taken further. Kyle began heading back to his room as well.

"I might as well sleep now." he said. "There's something I wanna check out before sunrise."

"See you tomorrow." Numbuh 2 responded.

It was dark outside with a starry night sky overhead as Kyle sat on a ledge of the treehouse's highest levels, looking out into the distance in the southwestern direction, towards Eternal Meadows Cemetery.

* * *

><p>"What did you want to say to me?." Riyos asked.<p>

"You can read my mind." Kyle answered.

"Yes, but I have chosen not to this time. I assume it is the situation of this replica of Him, is it not? This is probably the third time you have thought about it."

"Just what is Fuse really capable of?"

"There is still the question of whether this replica has Him's powers. If he did, then he would have probably wreaked havoc on your friends' armies by now."

"I guess you're right. Now the other question is what the real Him is planning . . ."

"It was obvious he wanted his Fusion eliminated, but I could not tell if he wanted to do it himself. It seemed like he was expecting you in his place instead."

"How can I kill-"

"Did you not hear your red-headed friend? You have support from others as well."

"Kind of odd for someone like you to say that."

". . . Just observe the situation for now. You always have immortality and my power at your disposal. And that blade will make the struggle easier."

"Alright."

Kyle looked up at the stars to trace the current major constellation. The eight different sets of stars were all divided evenly amongst the year. The stars all formed figures whose symbolism and association supposedly foretold what would happen during their reign. This night had Shadow, the figure of darkness.

"It's Shadow's constellation right now." Kyle stated. "Fitting, don't you think?"

"Shadow is not always associated with evil, but I will admit that there are many sinister cases connected to him."

"I know that, but still . . . Hm?"

Kyle's Nanocom began vibrating. It was Edd.

"Double D?" Kyle answered.

"Oh, good." he said relieved. "I thought you would be asleep."

"Likewise. Anyway, what is it?"

"I just couldn't sleep so I started working on those Crazy Brain locations."

"You found another one?"

"Yes, but . . . it's in Eternal Meadows Cemetery. I fear that's what Fusion Him is after. Is Numbuh 5 there too?"

"She left to see Stickybeard after that meeting we had and she hasn't come back yet."

"I'll try to get a hold of her in a few hours then."

"What should we do though? We've got a lot of people showing up that night. Someone's bound to find out about the chests."

"We just have to hope Fusion Him hasn't found it by then. We can always come back for the chest later."

"Send me the location. I could at least keep an eye on it while we're there."

"Good idea. I'm obviously not going since I'm unfit for combat, but I'll be rooting for you."

"Thanks. I'll see you later."

* * *

><p>It was coming closer to sunset as KND forces began mobilizing. Small fleets consisting of jet-like aircraft and fighter-equipped SCAMPERs departed from the Sector V treehouse. Land units and foot soldiers had already left earlier due to the distance needed to travel to the cemetery. Plumber forces were already on standby in Endsville, waiting for Ben's orders to charge in. Aside from the ones in the area, the SACT didn't participate since they saw the current number of forces more than enough. The Candy Pirates didn't show up either for their own personal reasons.<p>

Kyle and Numbuh 5 were waiting in the parking lot across the cemetery's entrance. They were handing out the replica Megas arms that Dexter had his Dexbots bring over. Blossom was flying overhead and scouting the area around them, keeping watch for any surprise attacks and Fusion Him's location.

The rest of the forces arrived with Numbuh 2 among them an hour later and were put on standby. Numbuh 5 was leader for all the units, but she gave Blossom and Numbuh 2 control over the aerial forces due to their abilities. Kyle was given independence to do whatever he wanted due to his other objective. He watched as the other three were giving a pep talk to their fellow agents.

"Hey! Over here, mon!" a voice exclaimed loud enough for only Kyle to hear.

Grim was hiding behind a building, waving towards. He was trying to not be seen by the others. Without alerting the other, Kyle quickly ran over to the reaper.

"What is it?"

"Fusion Him." Grim replied. "I've managed to find his exact location."

"That's great! I can tell them to send-"

"One problem." he interrupted. "The passageway leading to him only has enough room for one person. There's also another thing. It seems de Fusion learned about de secret and supernatural areas of de catacombs. Him thinks his copy doesn't truly have his powers, but Him also thinks dat's why de Fusion is there. Der's a powerful magic down there and if dat Fusion gets it, you can say dat my job will become extremely busy!"

"But should I still tell the others?"

"Do what you want. Him only ordered me to tell you dis info."

Grim was about to slam his scythe to disappear in a cloud of smoke before Kyle quickly and suddenly stopped him by grabbing his robe. The boy had an idea.

"Wait! Why don't you fight too? You're immortal aren't you?"

"And risk getting hurt? I don't have to take orders from you!"

"But you do for me." a voice coldly said behind him.

Grim was frozen in disbelief the moment he heard that. He slowly turned just his head around and saw Mandy standing there along with Billy holding Runty in his hands. The skeleton's body began trembling and his voice sounded like it was in a little hysterics due to fear.

"M-M-Mandy. Long time no see."

"I've finally found you, Grim." Mandy stated. "What's with you leaving all the sudden? You know our rules."

"W-W-Well. I just thought-"

"I guess I can let this slide, but on one condition . . . No, make that two conditions. You fight and let me meet with Him."

"Girl. Why in the world would you want to meet Him?"

"Did I say you could ask me questions?"

"Y-You still can't make me!"

"Can I?"

Mandy pulled out a dark red whistle. It was decorated with a large skull on each side and other skeletal figures on the rest of the surface. Mandy took a deep breath and blew into it causing Grim to go into a panic.

"M-Mandy! Please! Anything but Cerberus! Alright, Alright! I'll fight! Just call him off! D'oh! I never should've bet de whistle in dat poker game!"

"It's too late now, Grim." Mandy casually said as she looked up into the sky.

"Hooray! Runty will have a playmate!" Billy exclaimed.

Kyle followed what everyone else did and looked up at the sky as well. An extremely large object was falling towards them. It looked like a flaming comet though Kyle could make out furry tail sticking out from it. Numbuh 5 and others quickly scrambled to get out of its range when they noticed it.

"Um, shouldn't we get out of here?" Kyle asked worriedly.

"Relax." Mandy calmly replied. "It won't hit you as long as you stay still."

Within a few seconds, the large object made contact with the ground, destroying the abandoned general store it landed on and setting the area around it ablaze. Once the smoke cleared, the "comet" revealed itself to be the large three-headed dog and guardian of the Underworld, Ceberus, himself. He had the body of a large Doberman. His center and right heads were of the same breed though the center head had a different shade of fur compared to the body. The left head was of a poodle, completely setting itself apart.

Cerberus growled at Grim the moment he spotted his former owner, threatening to bite and chew on his body. Flames occasionally emanated from his nostrils when he breathed. Mandy was quick to roll up a nearby newspaper to hold the creature back for a moment. Kyle was surprised a creature that ferocious looking could be controlled by a normal girl. He thought the whistle played a factor in his obedience.

"Promise, Grim?" Mandy asked.

"Yes, yes." he quickly replied as he backed away. "Just keep Cerberus away from me!"

Numbuh 5 suddenly came around the corner, looking for Kyle. Blossom and Numbuh 2 were also with her.

"Kyle! Are you alri- Holy camole! What the heck is that!"

"Cerberus." Kyle answered. ". . . Mandy's dog."

"Billy?" Numbuh 2 asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Mandy brought me along!" he replied laughing.

"So this is the Cerberus Him mentioned before." Blossom said to herself aloud. "I never expected him to be part poodle."

"Yeah. A lot of people get that impression." Mandy told her.

"You two shouldn't be here." Numbuh 5 said. "It's dangerous here. Fusion Him is somewhere around this area."

"Exactly why I came here in the first place." Mandy replied. "If Fusion Him is here, then there's the chance the real one will show. But I happened upon Grim here, so I've pretty much guaranteed seeing Him."

"Grim?"

"Hello der." the skeleton awkwardly greeted them.

Numbuh 5 and Numbuh 2 were taken aback upon noticing his presence. They seemed to be in a little disbelief of seeing Death standing right in front of them. Blossom remained relatively calm since the supernatural wasn't new to her.

"Y-You mean the Grim Reaper himself?" Numbuh 2 asked.

"Dat's me." Grim answered. "Him's gonna be furious when he finds out I'm helping you."

"He's not coming?" Blossom asked.

"Eh, I don't know. He only sent me to tell Kyle something."

"And that is . . .?"

"Grim!" Mandy exclaimed in an annoyed tone. "Spit it out before I make Cerberus eat you again!"

"Alright." he said. "Fusion Him's-"

Grim was cut off by a sudden tremor. It calmed down slightly, but it showed no signs of stopping. The nearby KND agents readied their weapons and got in formation assuming there was something coming their way. Ben was attempting to contact Numbuh 5, but the tremor made her not noticed her Nanocom's vibration. Whatever was causing the tremor was making even Cerberus cower in fear.

"Grim, what's happening!" Billy exclaimed as he tried to get Runty under control.

"He found it!" Grim exclaimed. "I hope you're ready for the fight of your life, kids!"


	36. Retribution

**Chapter 36 – Retribution  
><strong>

**Author Notes:**

- (random) Just finished watching the Phineas and Ferb movie…******* hate you, Major Monogram. If I could write a million hate fics about you in one day, I would.

- still kinda confused on how to handle Grim's Jamaican accent since I've rewatched some of the series and he switches between the "d-" and proper "th-"…

- the idea for Numbuh 688 is from the "Operation S.T.A.T. stop the adult takeover" game on the Cartoon Network website. Before it became an actual game, there was a special event involving it years ago. If you beat it, you were allowed to print out your own "official" Kids Next Door ID, complete with being able to put your own fingerprint on it. The one I got gave me the codename, "Numbuh 688". I guess you could consider my Author Avatar if I ever decide to use him again. Just putting it out there if anyone was wondering where he's from.

- idea for the deceased Aiden royal family is not from any show, made it up. Possibility of them playing a role later.

* * *

><p>"Grim, what's happening!" Mandy exclaimed.<p>

"Eh, Fusion Him has found de Book of Prophecy." he answered. "It's a powerful supernatural artifact dat's hidden inside de catacombs here."

"Wait, I've read about that book." Blossom said. "It can predict the future, right?"

"Yes, but der are other things de book can do. It's contains a great power and I fear Fusion Him figured out how to harness it. I guess Reaper and Stanley weren't able to protect it . . ."

"Is there any way to stop it?" Numbuh 5 asked.

"Well, if you find the book and chant the reverse incantation, then it should work. But der's still de chance Fusion Him will have de book with him."

"Just what exactly can that book do?" Kyle asked.

"Ahahahaha! Yes!" a demonic voice exclaimed. Where it was coming from was unknown, but there was no mistaking it. It was the warped version of Him's deep masculine voice. "So _this_ is what the book is truly capable of! I may not be as powerful as the original, but _this_! Ahahaha!"

In an instant, the entire area was shrouded an eerie green mist. The feeling was faint, but one could feel their energy being drained away as time progress.

"Ugh. What is this stuff?" Numbuh 2 asked.

"I think Fusion Him is trying to drain the life out of everything." Grim replied. "You kids better find dat book fast! I can try to holding it off as long as I can, but you're on your own when me powers wear off."

Communication signals were constantly being radioed in. Numbuh 5 was having trouble keeping up with them, sending Numbuh 2 to temporarily fill in for her.

"This is Numbuh 688." a male voice said over her communicator. "What's going on down there?"

"Get the entire fleet here, stat!" Numbuh 5 answered. "We don't have much time! Focus all targeting priorities on finding and destroying Fusion Him!"

"Understood. Igniting extra jet thrusters now."

Numbuh 5 then answered the next call from Ben.

"Sorry about not answering earlier. I was preoccupied."

"What's going on over there?" Ben asked. "A weird mist just appeared outside the city where you guys are. You want us to stay here?"

"No, get over here! We need all the help we need if we want to stop this stuff and we need to do it fast!"

"Alright, the Plumbers and I are coming your way!"

Numbuh 5 continued working through the other calls as the others got ready. Mandy was telling Cerberus to "man up" as she and Billy climbed aboard each of the two Doberman heads' necks. Blossom had given her a standardized KND rifle to defend herself. She didn't give Billy one due to his "past actions". Kyle borrowed one as well in case he needed a long-range weapon if the situation called for it. He was waiting for the rest of the KND army to charge inside.

Grim was levitating in a meditation position just above a nearby building with a few KND agents guarding him. Even though he was a skeleton, his empty eye sockets strangely acted like that of a normal man; he could even blink. His eyes were closed as he held his scythe straight up in his hands. The razor sharp blade was glowing bright green as it began absorbing the Fusion's mist into it. This prevented the mist from taking effect, but Grim could not keep doing it forever.

Numbuh 2 boarded the pilot seat of his SCAMPER, starting up the main engines and lifting the vehicle a few feet in the air.

"Alright guys," he began, "we have no time to lose. You all ready? Let's go!"

The KND squads, now fully armed, gave a loud, reassuring yell as they ran inside the cemetery's front gates. Blossom and Numbuh 5 went first to scout ahead. Kyle, Mandy, Billy, and Cerberus followed suit once the last of the agents had left.

The initial part of the graveyard seemed relatively quiet. It wasn't until the team reached over the hillside into the other half of the graveyard where the true trouble began. One obvious thing was that the Infected Borders had gone missing. Those who could see far enough spotted the destroyed remains of the shield generators lying on the ground. Standing in their way was an extremely large army of Jock-O-Lanterns and Bloodsuckers. They completely surrounded the higher-elevated area that was the Infected, preventing anyone from getting in on any side. Many of the monsters were different compared to the normal ones. All of their colors were drastically altered to a shade of green.

"Fusion Him must be using the book to replicate his army." Blossom told the others.

"Let's just get this done." Numbuh 5 said, loading up her pistols. "We're disrespecting the dead the longer we keep doing this."

On her orders, everyone ran forward and fired upon the Fusion Monsters. The duplicates seemed to be easily defeated, likely a side effect of creating the sheer number of clones. Due to his size and abilities, Cerberus leaped ahead of everyone else. All three heads took a deep breath and exhaled wide-range and green-colored firebreath, incinerating all the monsters caught in it to ashes. Cerberus then began rushing through the entire monster army, knocking everything he could aside while he ready another flamethrower. Mandy began firing upon the Bloodsuckers that tried to grab her while Billy and Runty were simply laughing at all the destruction around them.

Numbuh 2 retreated to the eastern skies to join the fleets that just arrived over the bordering mountains. Together, they laid waste to groups by dropping explosive charges. This success was short live when noticing the Fusion Matter lake acting strangely. Numerous amounts of large bubbles began to form of the water's surface. They expanded till they were six feet in size before finally popping to reveal replica Bloodsuckers standing in their place. The lake continued to produce these monstrosities no matter how many were killed.

Blossom held Kyle by the hand as the two flew over the Boneyard and settled on a floating land mass. The Bloodsuckers couldn't fly that high of an elevation so they were safe from harm for the moment. Kyle used his rifle to fire on the monsters below while Blossom used her X-ray vision to attempt locating Fusion Him and the fastest possible route to reach his location.

"You find him yet?" Kyle asked.

"I didn't see on him on the way here. He must be deeper underground. I don't see him anywhere and my vision can only go so far."

"Then where's the catacomb entrance?"

"Grab on."

Kyle grabbed Blossom's hand again as she flew towards to the back of the Boneyard. Erected there was a large stone mausoleum as big as the City Hall building. Kyle stood on the steps and held off the Bloodsuckers while Blossom was opening the door. The locks were rusted and worn out so she needed time. Blossom grabbed Kyle by the collar and quickly pulled him inside, closing the door and locking it from the inside.

The inside of the mausoleum was almost pitch-dark. Stained glass windows just below the ceiling were the only source of light. From what he could vaguely see, Kyle saw two parallel sets of pillar, one going horizontally and the other going vertically, crossing each other like an "X". Lining the walls were the stone tombs of the deceased. Their presence and simply standing in this place gave Kyle an eerie feeling.

"I can barely see a thing." he said.

"Hold on." Blossom replied as she stood in front of Kyle. She fired her laser vision multiple times, each one towards a different pillar. The entire building was illuminated by the now lit mounted torches. The light revealed a downwards spiral staircase directly at the center of the room. "The catacombs are this way."

The two descended into the Boneyard's underground. Blossom lead the way through the numerous passageways. The torches here were already lit so someone had already been through the area recently. As they went deeper, it seemed Grim's influence no longer reached that far underground as the mist was visibly more concentrated. The two were hesitant to go onward in fear that they wouldn't able to survive long. They could already feel their energy being drained while they tried to make a decision.

"This stuff will only get more concentrated if we go further." Kyle observed.

"But it's the only way to reach Fusion Him." Blossom said.

"We'll get killed by this stuff before we make it though."

"You don't have to worry." Riyos said. "I can protect you from the mist's influence. You friend however . . ."

"I can't just leave her."

"Wait!" Blossom suddenly exclaimed. "My Nano! She has the Liberty Belle power! You have one of Dexter's Nano Potions, right? If we use that, we should be able to easily get through unharmed."

Kyle was impressed by Blossom's thinking. She really did live up to her status as being the smartest of the three Powerpuff Girls. He summoned his Blossom Nano and gave her a Nano Potion. Upon ordering her to use Liberty Belle, she began spinning fast enough that one's eyes couldn't even follow. By the time she stopped spinning, she revealed herself in an entirely new outfit. She was now dressed in a blue skin-tight suit, boots, and white leggings. She had a white star on her chest, wore a long, flowing red cape, and changed her bow to resemble a gold eagle. The Nano was now radiating a golden aura which surrounded the two. They no longer felt the harmful effects of the Fusion's green mist.

"Great memories." Blossom muttered. She laughed a little from recounting her memories as this alternate persona. "C'mon, let's go."

Blossom took the lead again since she had the better vision. As they continued deeper, the mist became so concentrated that Kyle could barely see Blossom in front of him. He tried to stay as close to her as possible without getting into her personal space.

After a few minutes, they came to what seemed like the final chamber. Surprisingly, the mist barely filled this room. When Kyle looked back from where he came from, it was like a wall had formed between him and the passageway. The chamber seemed to be the burial crypt of an ancient royal family. This was expected considering how old the cemetery was. The tombs of the family lined the walls in a square while the king's tomb itself was laid in the center. It was larger than the others, but the design was still the same compared to the rest of the tombs. Behind it was a mural with a passage written entirely in a strange writing system.

"What is this?" Kyle asked.

"I'm pretty sure it's the tomb of the Aiden family. They ruled over the entire continent many centuries ago if I'm remembering my history classes correctly. I never got a chance to fully research them so I don't know much about them. Apparently, they were secretly demon worshippers despite their kind behavior to their people."

"A fitting place for that book . . ."

"It looks like a bust. I still don't see Fusion Him and we've gone the deepest we can go."

"Why child," Fusion Him's voice began, "you're simply looking in the wrong places~."

The entire room went pitch-black as the torches extinguished themselves. Kyle heard Blossom's scream accompanied by a deep and sinister laughter. Kyle shined his Nanocom's flashlight around the room trying to find her. Blossom wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Blossom! Where are you!"

The torches immediately relit themselves, but this time the flames were glowing bright green. Kyle looked ahead and saw the mural had disappeared. Instead, there was now a cave-like entrance leading somewhere.

"Come if you want to save your precious little friend~." Fusion Him taunted.

Kyle ran as fast as he could inside the tunnel, following the sound of Fusion Him's echoing laughter. At the end, he came to another chamber though the structure was of a completely different design. Every aspect of it, the walls, the ceiling, and even the floor, was covered with engravings of the same kind of letters from the mural. Seven pillars were laid in a circle in the middle of the room. Hovering above the pedestal was Blossom in a green transparent sphere. She was unconscious, but Kyle could tell her energy was being drained just from the expression on her face. Standing next to her was Fusion Him who held the book in his left claw.

"You're a courageous one." he said. "I thought you would turn back from seeing how powerful I am."

"Just let her go." Kyle demanded.

"Now, now. I cannot simply let this girl go without something in exchange . . . I know! Toss that sword of yours over here! It'll be wonderful for Fuse to know that this accursed weapon will no longer be used against him~."

The sword was the only thing that could work in defeating the Fusion. Kyle needed it if he wanted to stand a chance, but he couldn't let Blossom suffer. The orb looked like it had the potential to be deadly if she remained there any longer. Kyle didn't take a moment to hesitant. He quickly unsheathed it and slid the blade across the across floor. Fusion Him smiled in delight and released Blossom from her prison. He held her by the shirt and tossed her back in exchange. Kyle was quick to react and caught her, putting her under the protection of Liberty Belle again. He set her against the wall and tried to wake her. Her Nano self was doing the same; she was clearly much more concerned for her well-being.

"I don't think she'll wake up for a while now." Fusion Him said. He bent over to inspect the sword a little closer and began reaching forward to touch it. "Hm, so this thing is what's giving us trouble- Ow! . . . Even with the book's power, I can't overcome it." He then looked towards Kyle again who was still trying to awaken Blossom. "You're still here? I was going to let you go safely, but if you insist on stay . . . Let's see, what spell to use? Oh, here's one! Spirits of darkness, come forth bring about-"

"Found you~!" a voice joyfully exclaimed.

Spontaneously, red smoke appeared and the real Him appeared and punched aside his Fusion double. Fusion Him was knocked back, but he still tightly gripped the book in his claw. He was beginning to be surrounded in a green aura out of anger. Him just laughed as he kicked the sword back to Kyle's hands.

"Y-You!"

"I simply cannot let you continue to exist." Him proclaimed.

"Him?" Kyle asked.

Him turned his head and took a look a Blossom.

"Seems like I wasn't here in time . . . You children should get out of here."

"But what about you?" Kyle asked.

"Child, don't you remember who I am? Now go."

Him spun his wrist in the air. His red smoke engulfed Kyle and Blossom and then transported them to another location.

Ben and his forces had arrived at the battlefield and were already joining the KND agents in the fight. Apart from Ben, they dressed in red protective suits and helmets with a full facial visor obscuring their faces. They mainly armed themselves with rifles that fired blasts of electricity and shock grenades on their utility belts. These were the Plumbers, a law enforcement organization, basically the police of the entire universe. Originally, they were relatively unknown to the public since the existence of aliens used to be kept a secret from them. Eventually, the secret was made known thanks to the numerous and inevitable extraterrestrial events made public by Ben Tennyson and those connected to him.

Ben himself was with Numbuh 5. He had transformed into a humanoid red, yellow, and black alien he dubbed "Jetray". Slightly taller than his normal size, the body somewhat resembled a manta ray and had gills on the side. Yellow membrane attached to his arms, body, and tail granted him the ability to glide in the air like a flying squirrel though Ben also had the ability of flight. His hands and feet only had three digits and by default, his mouth was always in a frown. Yellow horns grew from his mouth extending in an upwards slant before bending upwards to act like the eyebrows. A black zigzag stripe on each shoulder extended to the Ultimatrix symbol on Ben's chest.

"So," Ben remarked as he stood back-to-back against Numbuh 5, "we've got two kids on a giant, firebreathing, three-headed dog fighting with us, a live skeleton in robe just outside the cemetery, and prophetic book of untold destruction." He fired green lasers from his eyes, making quick work on the monsters in front of him. "Can this city get any weirder?"

"You've dealt with aliens since you were ten." she pointed out. "I'm sure you've seen weirder things than this."

". . . Heh. You've got me . . . Huh? Is that-?"

Ben directed Numbuh 5 to the middle of the battlefield when Kyle had appeared with Blossom in his arms. They quickly ran over to them and ordered nearby troops to cover them. Numbuh 2 also noticed them and provided aerial support.

"Kyle, what happened!" Numbuh 5 exclaimed.

"Long story." Kyle answered. "We need to get her out of here!"

"Give her to me." Ben told him. "I'll fly her to Endsville."

"No," Numbuh 2 said as he landed his SCAMPER, "we still need you. I'll take her. At least my ship has immediate medical supplies."

Kyle was in the middle of handing Blossom's body when the ground began shaking tremendously. He almost lost his footing and dropped her. Everyone, including the monsters, looked towards the Boneyard to see the foundation under the lake break apart and collapse. Whirlpools began to take shape as the water began to drain, but an extremely large one formed at the center. After a few seconds, Him came flying out of the swirling vortex and landed in front of the group. His body was badly injured, surprising all of them.

"What the!" Numbuh 5 exclaimed in astonishment. "How did this happen!"

"He . . . used that forbidden spell." Him managed to mutter.

Him pointed back towards the Boneyard before falling unconscious. Everyone looked and saw a giant figure rising. Slowly, Fusion Him emerged from the large whirlpool, only this time he had grown to a monstrous size comparable to the Sector V treehouse. His body was radiating with an even stronger aura then before. One by one, he shot down the KND's jet fighters with laser vision, laughing maniacally as he did so.

"H-He's huge!" Numbuh 2 exclaimed. "He's already taken out most of our air units!"

"Is this what Him's capable of or is it that book?" Ben wondered aloud.

"Does it matter?" Numbuh 5. "We need to take him out!"

"Ahahahaha! Don't you even dare attempt to stop me!" Fusion Him exclaimed.

The Fusion raised his arms in the air and began focusing. Everyone was confused to wait he doing until they noticed the monsters around them wailing in pain. Right before their eyes, their entire bodies decomposed into a visible aura and flowed towards the Fusion. It was clearly empowering him further as the aura surrounding him only intensified.

Numbuh 5 and Ben immediately ordered all operatives to begin bombarding the Fusion with every weapon and explosive they had. The Fusion merely scoffed at it and laughed in amusement. He raised his arms again and all motion ceased. Jets dropped out of the sky and crash-landed. Every single person on the battlefield dropped to the ground in pain. Their bodies were surrounded by blue auras representing their life energy. It was slowly being drained and absorbed by Fusion Him. Nobody could move due to the internal pain it caused them. Even Cerberus fell over to his size. They were at the mercy of the Fusion now. Outside, Grim was doing his best to minimize the effects, but it difficult for him to focus it on everyone there. His power barely had any effect. Nano Blossom was already tired out to spread her power and had to retreat inside Kyle's Nanocom.

"I can't move!" Numbuh 5 exclaimed. "Ben, what about you?"

"It's too much." he replied as he reverted back to his human form. "I can probably fly some people out if I transform, but I don't know how long the Ultimatrix can take this or if I can even make it out . . ."

"Is this the end?" Numbuh 2 asked worriedly.

Kyle looked around him. His friends were dying right before his eyes again and he couldn't stop it. He clenched his fists in frustration.

"You know what you must do." Riyos stated.

"But what about Him finding out?" Kyle asked.

"I thought your friends meant more to you than that? Besides, I do not particularly care about this secret anymore. As for the situation, I can easily dispel this and not be affected."

". . . Alright." he said as he grabbed the hilt of his sword. "Just do it as fast as possible . . ."

"Plenty of time."

Instantly, Kyle's shadow, as if it were alive, rose from the ground and completely enveloped him. He was basically a pitch-black figure like Father now though without facial features. The shadow layer slowly disappeared as if it was evaporating to reveal Kyle again although his appearance had changed. His hair had turned black like how he previously dyed it and his irises were now glowing with a bright blood red. Everyone close enough to see the event was utterly speechless.

Kyle calmly stood up and dashed forward. His speed was astonishing. He was standing in front of the Boneyard's entrance before anyone knew it. Kyle began leaping onto the floating land masses with extreme jumping capabilities. Fusion Him hadn't even noticed the boy since he was moving far too quickly for him to notice. Kyle stood in front of the Fusion's belly and leaped forward, taking one huge slash at his chest and cut off his belt holding the book. Fusion Him stumbled back, clutching his deep and bleeding wound in pain and inadvertently ceased the life draining spell he had cast.

"Augh! How can you still move!" he exclaimed.

Kyle quickly grabbed the book which shrunk to regular size when he touched it. He landed perfectly on the water's surface and didn't even submerge. It was like he was standing on solid ground. He began flipping through the book's pages, looking for the spell that made Fusion Him grow to his current size. The Fusion attempted to stop the boy by trying to stomp his heeled boots on him, but Kyle effortlessly moved aside from every strike.

The book had pictures depicting each of its spells' effects which made things somewhat easier. The trouble was the strange alphabet and language. Not even Riyos recognized it. He was sure he found the correct page, but he had no idea what to do from there. Fusion Him was getting relentless. He had memorized some spells and was already spawning more Bloodsucker clones to steal back the book.

There was no other choice. Kyle closed the book and tossed it in the air. With precision, he sliced it right down the center. The slices pieces remained frozen in midair as well as the spawned Bloodsuckers. A small ball of light appeared between the book pieces and rapidly began to grow. It soon engulfed the entire cemetery. Grim stood outside in awe. It was like a giant dome had been placed over the area.

"D-Did dat boy actually destroy dat 'ting!"

The ball shrank as quickly as it did grow. The monster clones had vanished and Fusion Him was standing the lake's shore, now powerless. Kyle was still in his transformed stated as he watched the floating book crumble into dust. He looked toward Fusion Him who was nervously backing away in fear. Kyle showed no mercy as he walked towards the Fusion and stabbed him in his wounded chest.

"And that's for pissing me off."


	37. New Beginnings

**Chapter 37 – New Beginning  
><strong>

**Author Notes:**

- it's a short chapter considering it's acting as a sort of epilogue. The Suburbs arc ends here. The next one will cover Downtown and the Wilds together so it'll be long

- May has a zipper on her FusionFall design if you're wondering where that came from

* * *

><p>"I'm not sure how we're to deal with . . ."<p>

Him had taken Kyle, who had reverted to his normal self, to the depths of the Underworld inside Him's personal office. The temperature was scorching but bearable for the time being. The room itself was beautifully decorated with many furnishings ranging from various shades of red and pink. Kyle was seating on a canapé, watching Him pace back and forth in front of him, trying to think of what to do with Kyle now that his secret about Riyos was known. Him's body was still injured, but he shrugged it off as nothing. Grim was also standing by the door, ordered to prevent anyone from getting in. He was only doing his job, but he couldn't help but want to help the boy.

"Six years, huh?" Him asked. "That's way too much time if we wanted to expel that traitor the easy way. And the only way now has a good chance of killing you..."

"Him!" Grim exclaimed. "Remember de deal! You can't lay a finger on dat boy until you fulfill your end of de bargain!"

"Yes, yes. I know. Now tell me, boy. How long have been aware of this demon's presence?"

"I don't know." Kyle replied. "One, two weeks ago?"

Him had informed Kyle that Riyos was a demon who had gone rogue, refusing to follow or at least obey Him as his superior. Him never bothered to hunt beings like him since the process of finding them took too much effort and resources, but he did subject them to harsh punishments if one was ever captured.

"And that sword you've got there?" he continued. "Who gave it to you?"

Kyle didn't want to answer more of Him's questions, but he had to. Him couldn't hurt him, but he could order someone else to do in his place. Plus answering seemed to be the only way out and make things easy.

"Jack, the time traveling samurai." Kyle answered.

"Him? Figures that man would have this thing in his possession. Do you know where he is right now?"

"I've asked that before. Nobody knows where he is. He keeps on moving from place to place."

"Well, I can easily find him myself. Now about your little friend? Is he willing to talk? Besides his . . . reputation, I'm well aware he's linked to why I can't let you speak to your friend."

"He doesn't know anything. He was just following orders."

"And whose orders are they?"

"He . . . He can't say."

"Binding contract or is he just doing it of his own free will?"

Kyle remained silent. Him sighed in disappointment as he and in his comfy chair and began pouring himself a cup of tea.

"Well, we won't get any further now and since I can't touch you, I guess you're free to go. I must thank you for defeating the ugly double of mine. And I absolutely _adore_ that Nano version of me."

Kyle had been able to make a Nano of Him, much to his disgust, but he still decided to keep it since it could prove useful in the future. His powers were named "Evil Laugh", "Mwa-Ha-Ha", and "Demonic Possession".

"Perhaps I will drop the records Riyos' past incidents as a reward considering that he killed that grotesque Fusion." he absentmindedly muttered. "Anyway Grim, escort the boy back to the mortal world. Oh, and tell that Mandy girl that our meeting will have wait another time."

Grim nodded as he took Kyle back to the Endsville encampment before more trouble could arise. Blossom was sitting on the sidewalk curb anxiously waiting there for the two's return. She had stayed behind due to her having the most energy being drained from her, but she also wanted to see Kyle. The others had left for their homes or assigned locations to report about the battle. Grim left.

Grim left Kyle with Blossom as he slowly walked towards Mandy's house, grudgingly knocking the door. Mandy opened the door with a cold stare and let him inside. Kyle then faced Blossom, fearful of what she was going to say. Many people were bound to find out about his power now.

"What did Him say?" Blossom asked.

"Just stuff about . . . you know."

"I can understand wanting to hide a secret like that. I mean just like with me. But yours is huge, potentially even dangerous to everyone around you."

"You think I'm a freak, don't you? Just like my childhood . . ."

"If I did, would I be talking to you right now? Maybe I'm not thinking this through considering the circumstances, but I'm just saying that now people know, you shouldn't try to hide it anymore."

"Well, that's pretty much obvious."

"You want me to fly you back to the treehouse? I kinda promised the others I'd take you back myself. It's okay if you don't-"

". . . Yeah. I wanna heard what the others have to say . . ."

Blossom nodded and she took Kyle's hand and flew him back to Sector V. They entered the treehouse laboratory where Numbuh 5, Numbuh 2, and Ben were waiting. Dexter was also on the monitor broadcasting from Dexlabs. Kyle awkwardly walked towards the couch and sat down.

"I've brought him." Blossom said.

They all looked at Kyle suspiciously, wondering if he was the boy they thought he was.

"Who else knew about this before we found out?" Dexter questioned.

"The future Samurai Jack and . . . a close friend of mine." Kyle answered.

"And you can willingly use this power?"

"Yes, but there's . . . possible consequences."

"I see. You can prove to be a wonderful asset, but also a dangerous one."

"It's not that I don't trust you, Kyle." Numbuh 5 said. "It's just . . . whatever that thing inside of you is."

"I'm with Numbuh 5 on this." Numbuh 2 added.

"C'mon, guys!" Ben pleaded. "He seems like a good kid. Give him a chance! He hasn't hurt anybody yet."

"I have to go with Ben on this." Blossom announced. "Kyle seems to be one who can control himself. And he's even taken out a number of Fusions in the Suburbs. Fusion activity started to go down thanks to him."

"I guess I'm the deciding vote then." Dexter said. ". . . While I don't believe in the supernatural phenomenon and feel it can be explained with science, I'm going to side with Kyle in this situation. I'm very curious about seeing how this will turn out. Just be warned, Kyle. I won't hesitate to change my mind if it gets out of hand."

"Thanks, Dex!" Ben exclaimed.

Dexter severed the communication feed. He turned in his swivel chair to face Professor Paradox who was standing behind him.

"You sure about this?"

"Oh, I'm very sure."

* * *

><p>"Well, I have to get going." Ben told them. "Gwen and Kevin are gonna be furious I don't go back soon. See ya, guys!"<p>

Ben transformed into Jetray and flew out of the room with incredible speed. Numbuh 5 began leaving the room as well.

"If you guys are gonna go through with this, then I'll do it as well. I'll be heading off on that recon mission now."

"I'm heading off too." Blossom said. "Take care, guys."

Blossom flew out the door leaving her signature pink light-trail behind which faded into thin air after a few seconds. Kyle got and stood by the doorway with his back faced towards Numbuh 2.

"If it makes things any less awkward, I guess I'll leave. Anything you need me to do?"

"Hold on." Numbuh 2 replied. "When did I say I don't want having you around? . . . But if you insist, then I'm sorry. Things have quieted down around here. Maybe someone else needs helps like in Peach Creek?"

Kyle instantly remembered the Crazy Brain Candy in the cemetery. He had completely forgotten about when he joined up with Blossom during the battle. He quickly left without a word and headed over to the Cul-de-Sac to find Edd. Kyle found him by his house.

"Double D. I completely forgot about the candy. Do you still have the map?"

"Oh, yes. Hold on." Edd went his house and came back out a few minutes later with one of the maps. He quickly analyzed it and inputted the coordinates in Kyle's map. "There you go. I heard that battle last night was intense. Did you get hurt?"

"Uh, no. Not really." He was somewhat relieved Edd didn't find out about what really happened that night yet. "Anyway, I'll head off now. The earth there breaking apart might make it easier for Fuse's monsters to find."

Kyle headed over to Eternal Meadows and began following the marker on his map. Broken tombstones and pieces of mausoleums now littered the ground. A number of coffins were even unearthed thanks to the ground breaking open. Kyle felt bad about the deceased's resting place being desecrated, but he couldn't possibly fix the problem without help. The Infected Zone's borders still hadn't been replaced yet and there were strangely no guards stationed to prevent further infection.

The marker was behind the Boneyard hidden inside a small cluster of old dead trees. Thankfully, the previous night's events hadn't disturbed the earth around it. Kyle easily found the correct spot and began digging with a shovel he had brought along. After a few minutes, Kyle struck something metal. He unearthed the handle on the side of the chest pulled it out. It was clear that no one had tried opening it as the lock was still firmly latched on. Kyle digitalized the chest into his Nanocom's storage banks immediately headed back to the Cul-de-Sac.

"That was fast." Edd remarked. He was carefully inspecting the chest which Kyle had placed in a secret storage room Edd had set up. This had been done to prevent Eddy from finding and selling the candy. "It's good the lock is still working. Thanks for finding it."

"No problem." Kyle replied. "I need to head to the treehouse. I'll see you later."

Kyle went back to Sector V. He wanted to apologize to Numbuh 2 for leaving so suddenly without a word. By the time he returned, Numbuh 2 was nowhere to find. He had left a note in his laboratory saying that he went on an errand and wouldn't be back till later that night. Seeing as there wasn't anything left to do, Kyle just decided to go take a nap in his room. Dark cloud began moving in and he didn't get much sleep after the battle anyway.

* * *

><p><em>Midnight of that day<em>

Lee and Marie Kanker as well as another girl were wandering around Eternal Meadows in a foggy night. This other girl was blonde and wore her long hair down. She dressed in a white zipper t-shirt and red shorts. She was the third and youngest of the Kanker sisters, May. She was considered the more goofy-looking one of the group due to her buck teeth and how she laughed.

"May," Marie said, "are you sure your boyfriend ran inside here?"

"Yes!" May exclaimed. "I can't possibly mistake _anyone_ for him!"

"Alright, but did you really have to bring us along?"

"This graveyard is scary at night! Have you heard the stories about this place?"

"Oh, those are just stories we tell people to make them pee their pants."

"But what about that story of a giant monster appearing last night?"

"That was just a Fusion!" Lee exclaimed. "And don't worry. Those guys took care of it. I mean look at this place."

"It is kinda more creepy now." Marie admitted. "Anyway May, do you where he went?"

"I think near the Boneyard." she replied.

"Alright, follow me." Lee ordered them.

With a flashlight shining in her hand, Lee led the other two over the hillside. The fog had limited their vision of what laid below, but they could still see the vague shadows. The three continued towards the Boneyard until Lee suddenly stopped at the beginning of the upward slope.

"What is it, sis?" Marie asked.

"Did you hear that?"

"Was it a ghost?" May muttered.

"No. Like a weird wind sound. It's this way."

Lee led her sisters off the cobblestone path towards a mausoleum. There were unburied tombs scattered around it, the larger number being to its east. The fog was strangely much more concentrated in this specific area. The three could barely see each other. May whined about turning back, but Lee still forced her along. They finally approached a tomb with four tall lit candlesticks surrounding it. Above the stone cover was a floating white ball of light. All three of them carefully approached, curious of what it was.

"Was is this thing?" Lee wondered aloud.

"Would you like to find out?" a deep, eerie voice answered.

The girls quickly looked up to see a large dark-robed figure had appeared right behind the tomb. Only his face and half of his torso were exposed, but it was obvious he was not of this world. He was clearly a lich and he had a suspicious grin on his face as if he was expecting the three to show up. May and Marie grabbed Lee's arms in fear, but Lee herself calmly stood there. The other two wanted to leave, but they couldn't do so without their sister.

"Would you be interested in my services?" he asked.

"What kind of 'services' do you mean?" Lee asked back. She was suspicious but also intrigued by his offer.

"I overheard your sister say she was looking for a friend of hers."

"You've seen him?"

"No, but I have something that might help you." He grabbed the ball of light and held it in his hands. The light subsided to reveal the Book of Prophecy, fully intact and barely scratched. "This should help."

"What is it?"

"The Book of Prophecy. It's what caused the events last night. They thought it was destroyed, but I secretly restored it."

"And how will this thing help us?"

"Simply ask it a question." He opened the book to a specific part with both pages blank. "Go ahead. Try it."

Lee stepped forward and looked at the book. She was still a little skeptical if what this supernatural being was saying was true. Nevertheless, she thought it wouldn't hurt to try.

"Where's Ed, May's boyfriend?"

A strange blue energy began to swirl on the right-hand page and form an oval-like window which showed a live moving image. It showed a tall boy in saggy blue jeans and a red and white striped shirt with an open green jacket over it. He seemed to have yellow skin due to his poor hygiene, a buzz-cut, and a monobrow. The boy was shown wandering the large Wilderness, scared out of his mind.

"Ed!" May exclaimed, worried about his safety. "How did he get there so quickly? I saw him go in here!"

"Perhaps you were following a Fusion replica of him?" the lich suggested. "It is quite common nowadays."

"Wow, dumbo." Marie remarked. "You brought us here for nothing."

"Would you like the book? Personally, I've grown tired of being its guardian."

"Sure." Lee answered. "I guess it'll be useful. What else you got?"

The lich reached inside his cloak. While he was riffling through its contents, one could hear the distinct sound of a bone cracking and a loud screech. The lich pulled out a skeletal hand hanging from a silver chain and scary-looking heart with four mouths on it.

"I've got this keychain and demon heart. I offered the same to some kid and his dog and they loved it."


	38. Paddle Ball

**Chapter 38 –Paddle Ball**

**Author Notes:**

- oddly enough, I've never seen the first episode of Ultimate Alien till today. (Scott Menville's young boy voice is cute~) I haven't seen much of the Aggregor plotline either and I don't plan to watch. Anything post-"Kevin being cured", I've probably seen already. Also, sorry if I get any plot details revealed in the Aggregor arc incorrect.

- I'm stopping with listing each Nano's powers. They'll be revealed if Kyle ever decides to use them.

- boring paragraph-heavy chapter this time

- you'd probably only know how and why I named Kyle's neighbor Kenny Bonne if you actually knew me in real life.

* * *

><p>A week had passed since the Battle of Eternal Meadows. Kyle had spent the time to himself and fulfilling odd jobs and other requests for people around the Suburbs. He had mainly done this to pass the time as people adjusted to his now-known and public secret. People had started to give him all kinds of looks, weird, curious, untrusting, and suspicious being some of them. They were pretty much divided on how they saw Kyle. Some deliberately avoided him, some treated him normally or as they used to, and others were actually fascinated by him.<p>

Luckily, one of the people he could relate to was Ben. His identity as a human who could transform into different aliens was mainly kept secret until he was sixteen-years-old where a young boy named Jimmy Jones made it known publicly. After that, people were divided on whether or not they could trust him. It was only through his past and current efforts that they learned to accept him. He and Kyle started talking more often than before and got to know each other, but it was still not that often considering Ben's constant workload due to the invasion. Ben mainly just encouraged Kyle not to feel down and just do his best.

During this time, Kyle had taken to change his usual appearance a little to help avoid people whom he didn't know from recognizing him. Somehow, pictures had been published of him in his possessed form so he saw it best to not look like that. He still kept his silvery white hair and eyes intact in respect for Dan and Adam. He especially didn't want to let those two down. Kyle still wore an open zipper jacket despite the summer weather only this time it was azure in color and had an emblem with a large number "1" printed inside it. He personally just didn't like wearing shirts without something over it ever since he was little and he barely sweat when it came to heat. He also began wearing dark blue cargo pants. The blue color was just due to favoritism. He didn't like red that much anymore mainly due to the incident. Kyle's hat was put away, but he still wore the same shirt since he wanted to keep at least one reminder. Instead of his arm, he wore his red headband around his neck. Kyle wanted to at least show it somewhere, but he felt wearing it around his forehead was a little childish and more noticeable.

Kyle was lying in his bed at the treehouse staring at the ceiling. There were no more awkward feelings between him and Numbuh 2 as well as the other people he knew in the Suburbs, but Kyle had taken to secluding himself unless he was needed. It was midafternoon when Numbuh 2 asked to see him in the laboratory. By the sound of his voice, it sounded like he was excited about something.

"What is it?" Kyle asked as he entered the laboratory and lied down on the couch.

"I finally fixed the LOCATOR!" he exclaimed.

Numbuh 2 held the device in his hands. It looked complete different than how it started with other diverse technology parts merged with it. The lights were randomly flashing so Kyle took it as a sign of it working.

"Have you tried using it yet?" Kyle asked.

"No, not yet. I got it in working condition, but the programming just confuses the heck out of me. Do you mind delivering it to someone? It's supposed to go to Ben's grandpa, but he's away from his usual location right now. I need you to take it to City Point. One of our members at our encampment there will take it from there. Her codename's Numbuh 311."

City Point was the northern-most district of Townsville. It was mainly a residential district, but what made it popular was the amusement park located there to the eastern side, Dizzy World. The park was small in size, but it still had its fair share of rides. The most popular attraction had to be the Jet GoGo rollercoaster. Kyle had always enjoyed visiting this amusement park during the summer when he was younger. He even remembered arguing with a ride attendant about being too short to ride.

The idea of going back felt nostalgic. Now that Kyle thought of it, it would be his first day back in Townsville in weeks. He seriously considered returning home now or at least just stop by.

"Hey, Numbuh 2. Do you mind if stop by somewhere while I'm there?"

"You wanna to go back to your home? You know, it's okay if you want to stay there. Things have quieted down a lot here. You might as well stay there to help prove you're not the kind of person people think you are. I'll still keep in touch in case we need you back here."

"Thanks."

Kyle placed the repaired LOCATOR in his Nanocom's storage and left the treehouse. Boarding a SCAMPER, he requested the pilot to fly to the City Point encampment. They eventually arrived and came to a landing in a small park just outside the southern end of Dizzy World. It was essentially dedicated to the Powerpuff Girls as the square tiles were arranged and color-coded in a way to that it formed cartoonish and 8-bit versions of the girls. The encampment mainly consisted of KND agents, but there were a few Monkey Minions scattered about.

Kyle then turned around and saw a disturbing sight, for him anyway. Dizzy World itself had been turned into an Infected Zone. The amusement park was in a state of ruin and covered in Fusion Matter. Seeing one of his childhood memories like this particularly depressed him, but he decided to try and ignore it for now and focus on finding Numbuh 311. He began asking around and one agent directed him to the northeastern end. He came to a surprise when he found Bloo arguing with her.

"C'mon!" he whined. "You have to let me!"

"Look." she told him. "I'm sorry, but you can't just go wandering into the amusement park. What are you even thinking! It's been closed since the invasion anyway!"

"And that means no more waiting in lines! C'mon!"

"Bloo?" Kyle asked as he approached the two.

Bloo looked at Kyle in confusion. It took a moment before he finally recognized the boy. He was mainly stumped by his hair and eyes.

"Oh, Kyle! Here. Talk to _her_ for me! Say that it's okay for me to go in!"

"Why would I do that? Have you seen that place?"

"Augh! You're no help!"

"Why are you here anyway? Shouldn't you be at Foster's? And why do you want to go in the park so badly?"

"Well . . . Mac and Coco are gone, Eduardo's no fun to scare anymore, Wilt's too busy helping out at the Cul-de-Sac, Frankie won't let me drive the bus, and Mr. Herriman's been in one of his moods lately. There was nothing to do and there was no telling when Mac would come back so I decided to sneak out and have fun in Townsville. That was until Ms. Killjoy here said I couldn't go inside."

"It's clearly dangerous!" Numbuh 311 exclaimed.

"_Anyway_, I wanna go inside and have some fun."

"Is this what Mac went through every single day?" Kyle thought to himself. "Okay, why do you _really_ want to go in? I know there's something else you want."

Bloo took a step back in defeat. He was nervously his stubby arms which doubled as his hands.

". . . Ugh! Fine! I was gonna head to Townsville Mall when I saw a Fusion me wandering inside there! And he had my favorite automatic paddle ball prototype Heather gave me! Anyway, I want it back! I got stolen and I'd been looking for it ever since!"

"Alright." he said rolling his eyes. "If I get your paddle ball back, do you promise to stop bothering people about going inside the park?"

"Yes, yes! I promise! I saw him go inside the circus tents!"

Numbuh 311 attempted to stop Kyle until she remembered his face and held herself back. She knew Kyle was more than capable of taking care of himself. It was his capabilities she was afraid of if they got out of hand.

The entrance portal was right by the front gate. Upon using, Kyle appeared on a large hovering platform provided by Dexlabs. This was due to a major portion of the entrance plaza being covered in a layer of toxic Fusion Matter. The plaza mainly consisted of food and drink stands along with some carnival games. To the left was the bumper cars attraction. It seemed the power hadn't been cut off yet since the magnetic floor was dimly lit and the cars were slowly moving on their own. To the right was the inoperable and broken down rollercoaster. Whatever had happened, it caused a couple of the train cars to pile on top of each other.

The circus tents were towards the northwestern corner of the park. They weren't added as an attraction until after Kyle stopped visiting the park. The circus was original run by a clown named Zombozo and his trio of circus freaks. It all turned out be a huge scheme which caused all the attendees to be left in a near death state. It was then all suddenly fixed when someone supposedly defeated Zombozo. The circus freak trio was seen from time to time, but Zombozo was never sighted again until six years later where he began clashing with Ben Tennyson. The tents remained abandoned since the incident because the park executives always had plans to replace the show, but they never got around to it.

Kyle entered the main tent and was surprised that he immediately found a Fusion Portal in the ringmaster's circle. He had expected them be more well hidden now considering the numbers of encounters and Fusion defeats he had dealt with. Kyle readied a rifle he had received from Dexter. It was the genius prodigy's newest prototype weapon and he wanted Kyle to test it out and give back an assessment as soon as possible. He took a deep breath and proceeded inside.

The cavern was practically empty, possibly due to the lair being just established. There weren't even terrafusers or other strange green plants growing on the wall yet. There wasn't any light source either. Using a flashlight would possibly give away his location. Riyos offered his services and allowed Kyle to be able to see in the dark. His eyes were glowing red, but still had full awareness and control. It still gave him away, but at least it was more effective.

Kyle continued along until he reached the last chamber. He quickly peeked inside and stepped back so he hopefully wouldn't be noticed. He had seen another set of red eyes. It had to be the Fusion. Kyle told Riyos to cease the nightvision as he aimed his rifle. He fired twice while the Fusion's back was turned. The Fusion howled in severe pain and dropped to the ground. Kyle used his flashlight and saw the Fusion had been reduced to basic Fusion Matter. The weapon seemed to be functioning properly. Dexter had told Kyle he had designed the shots to be more powerful than standard rifles, have a quicker firing rate, and be faster and quieter. He just needed to know if the model was stable enough.

Kyle approached the Fusion's remains and created a small Bloo Nano. He also found the automatic paddle ball prototype Bloo was looking for although the "automatic" part no longer functioned properly. Kyle left through the exit portal and headed back to meet with Bloo. He found the Imaginary Friend still venting his towards Numbuh 311 who seemed to be only getting a headache that grew worse every second.

"Here." Kyle said as he handed the paddle ball to Bloo. "You're Fusion kind of broke the controls though."

"It's okay." he replied. "As long as the thing itself isn't broken." Bloo began to try playing with it only to constantly fail at every attempt. He didn't even get the first bounce off the ball. He ended up toss it onto the ground in frustration. "Augh! The stupid thing's broken!"

"Are you gonna stop bothering every here now?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll head over the Townsville Mall later. I still need to get a juice box. Oh, and don't tell Frankie where I am."

Bloo quickly ran off before Kyle could even answer, automatically assuming he would've said yes. Kyle just shrugged it off and decided to go along with it. He then retrieved the LOCATOR from his storage and showed it to Numbuh 311.

"Numbuh 2 told to give this to you."

"Oh, you must be the one he told me to look out for." Her eyes were closed, her hands still rubbing her forehead in annoyance from just dealing with Bloo. "Sorry that guy made you go after a Fusion. You actually know that guy?"

"Just once. I know his creator a little better. I wonder how he's doing . . ."

"Well anyway, thanks for delivering this. I'll get this to Max when he passes by here. You know, you're not as bad people say you are. I don't know why some are afraid of you."

"Yeah . . ."

"Oh! Sorry about that! I didn't mean to-!"

"It's alright. I'll be leaving now."

Kyle headed off southward to the next district of Townsville, City Station. It was basically the center of Townsville in location and, as the name somewhat implied, when it came to transportation and business. One couldn't look outside his window and see the place still lively as ever. The district was mainly home to the headquarters of various companies. Many men and women in dark business suits could be found walking the streets. It was the also home to the main station of the Slider System, a constantly running transportation network in Townsville. It was one of Dexter's inventions which ran similar to a subway system, only it was aboveground. Using the latest in hovering technology, large round platforms followed preset tracks suspended in midair. There were even tracks connecting the higher floors of rooftops of buildings, but those functioned only with one person per load mechanics. Even though the Slider System was centered here, not many people used it when it came to getting to work since the average speed was only slightly faster than the normal man's running speed. Teenagers and parents with their children made up the regular riders.

Now that the invasion was happening, people mainly stuck to remaining indoors, coming out only when necessary, but a fair amount of people still wandered the streets. There were a few SACT agents stationed around the area for protection. Kyle still wondered what kind of organization they were, particularly when he was working with them in Endsville. He knew a lot of the current big names, but the SACT seemed to come out of nowhere. He considered asking an agent, but he couldn't get close without a strange and suspicious look now. Kyle just decided to the question unanswered and he continued on.

The northwestern part of the district was the apartment complex where Kyle lived in a condominium. He walked up to the front of the buildings and looked up to stare at it before going inside. It was a large building of unique architecture. Mainly black and grey with purple linings, the buildings stood fifteen stories. Kyle always had a habit of going to the rooftops and gazing down upon the city if he was bored. He went inside and found the front desk unattended. It was strange since the doorman loved to spend time here even if he was off-duty. Kyle assumed the invasion was the cause. He then got in the elevator and pressed the "8" button. The doors eventually opened up to a T-shaped set of hallways. Kyle headed straight and opened the second door on his right numbered "814". The door was unlocked, but it wasn't surprising. Kyle's mother was always either too lazy or forgetful to lock the door. Nobody dared to enter without permission anyway so it didn't matter. She always had unexplained ways to track down those who did so and the methods on how she dealt with them were not pretty. It even turned into a citywide reputation. Not even the most aggressive of the most common criminals of Townsville ever attempted setting foot in the building due to past incidents.

"Mom?" Kyle asked, loud enough for anyone inside to hear.

There was no answer as Kyle closed the door behind him. Everything seemed just as he left it although a little more tidy. In case his mother was taking a nap, he checked her room. Empty. The bed was already made. Kyle assumed she had gone out, but wondered what she would be doing since he doubted her business job would be running at this time.

"Kyle?" a voice asked.

A black-haired boy of yellow skin around Kyle's age had opened the front door and came inside. He was still in his pajamas consisting of a striped long sleeve shirt and gym pants. His name was Kenny Bonne, Kyle's neighbor from across the hall. They had always been on friendly terms, but never talked to each other that much.

"Kenny?" Kyle asked.

"Where're you been? I definitely know you enough that you're not the kind of person away from home that long."

"Haven't you seen or read the news?"

"Eh, they're just over exaggerating and jumping to conclusions. I think it's pretty cool to be honest. And it's great to see you with your old hair color again."

"You think so? . . . Hehe. Thanks . . ."

"So where'd you go?"

"Helping the Kids Next Door in Sector V."

"Kids Next Door, huh?"

"Is there a problem?"

"No . . . nothing."

"Anyway, have you seen my mom?"

"Yeah. She wanted me to tell you that she wouldn't be around for a while. She didn't say how long exactly."

"I see . . . Well, I'm just glad to be back in my old room again."

"Hey. You mend telling me about what you've been up to? It's been pretty boring being cooped up in my room watching constant reruns of cartoons like Action Hank. All the new shows we have nowadays are these crappy live-action shows . . ."


	39. Bullet

**Chapter 39 – Bullet**

**Author Notes:**

- I don't believe Bullet's gender was ever specified in the show, but the game identifies Bullet as a girl so I'll go with that

- I'm changing the canon of a certain character (not saying who yet), an essentially eliminating a show's episode, to accommodate the mysterious notes left behind in this chapter.

- if you haven't played the game or watched Camp Lazlo, then you might want to know that in the show, Mount Blackhead was a talking volcano. In the game, it's an actual mountain converted into a Kids Next Door treehouse/base

- yes, I know you go around Mount Blackhead in the game, but I just felt like changing the geography so the "Gateway to the Wilds" thing made more sense

* * *

><p>Kyle was casually browsing the stores in Townsville Mall, looking for something that would interest him. He was in the Townsville Center district just west of City Station. This was the go-to place for anyone's shopping needs or just hanging out with friends in Townsville. The mall was rectangular in structure and dug into the ground which earned it the nickname, "Sunken Mall". It was open-roofed which allowed fresh air and sunlight. In the case of rainy weather, Dexlabs had provided a powerful generator which would produce an artificial barrier to act as a temporary roof. The entrance was on both sides of an arch bridge which divided the mall evenly into northern and southern sections. Stores lined every inch of the walls, ranging from wide varieties of merchandise like clothing and electronics. The northern section was home to a large popular half-pipe and fountain court while the other had a large performance stage complete with spotlight used for live entertainment. The mall was kept open despite the invasion since it was pretty well protected on its own since the barrier could also double as an electrocuting shield if the situation called for it.<p>

Things had been quiet for Kyle lately for the past few days. Numbuh 2 hadn't called to inform him of any tasks needing to be done and Kyle knew there were things going on every second. He had mainly stayed home getting his stuff in order. Other than that, he sat on his building's rooftop with Kenny. They had grown much closer after they started talking since they both had nothing else to do. Kenny hadn't come with Kyle to the mall since his parents didn't trust the two, let alone Kyle, by themselves with monsters roaming about.

Kyle didn't find anything, but he needed to at least some of the Taros he had. He felt bad about so many people rewarding him with so much money and not spending some of it. He settled for a new and one of the latest MP3 players along with some earphones and a pack of rock, pop, and techno CDs. As he was exiting the store whilst listening to his music, Kyle noticed Bubbles speaking with a group of teenagers, clearly worried about something.

"Are you sure?" she asked them again.

"We're sure." one of them answered.

"Okay . . ."

"Bubbles." Kyle said as he approached her. He knew she didn't know him as her future self anymore, but he was sure she would've heard about him from someone like Blossom or the Professor. "What's wrong?"

"Oh. You're that Kyle guy Blossom told me about, right? Well, some of Fuse's monsters just attacked the forest just outside the city. When I went to check it out, I found out that my friend who lives there went missing. I thought some people might've seen where they went."

"What's he look like?"

"She's a squirrel. Her eyes look like our Powerpuff eyes, only orange. She also has some of our powers. I thought she could handle herself so I'm really worried."

"Are there any monsters still left in that forest?"

"No. We cleared them out when I was looking for Bullet."

"What type of monsters were they?"

"They're a bunch of filling cabinets that were put together to make big monsters."

"Alright. I'll keep an eye out. Where'll you be?"

"I have to get back to the Mayor soon so I'll probably be there. Please find Bullet. I'm scared something might happen to her . . ."

"Don't worry. I might know a way to find her."

Kyle exited the mall and headed north where City Hall was located. The building and its plaza were built on a man-made platform surrounded by a deep rectangular moat. The only ways across were the bridge on the southern side or the large staircase to the north. Kyle went around towards the eastern side of the moat where part of the forest was. It stretched into Townsville by encasing City Hall on three sides, but the east and north were the most active with wildlife.

"You can track them, right?" Kyle asked mentally.

"As long as the struggle took place recently, then yes." Riyos responded.

Still in full control, Kyle's irises began glowing red again. He began seeing the transparent tracks of various creatures on the ground like footprints but irremovable until a certain time had passed. There were tracks belonging to many different animals like squirrels, deer, and chipmunks. It would be almost impossible to tell Bullet's tracks apart from the rest unless her paws and feet had something special to make her stand out. Kyle focused on finding tracks that seemed out of place. If the monsters that supposedly kidnapped Bullet were made out of filling cabinets then the tracks should be near-perfect quadrilaterals.

Kyle continued northward and found what he was looking for a half-mile outside Townsville. He followed the tracks northeast and came across an abandoned facility. It seemed to be a small old facility. The building was design in layers with each floor getting smaller in length and width until it reach the dome-like structure at the top floor. There were even some old ten-wheelers and garbage trucks sitting in the dirt parking lot.

The tracks led inside the open iron gates, into the building, and right outside to another location. Kyle thought they might've brought Bullet here and went inside. The steel doors made a large creaking noise when he opened. Kyle just hoped there weren't any monsters or Fusions inside or nearby to hear it. Tables, papers, and many scientific materials littered the floor. Kyle assumed this used to be a research facility. He then climbed the staircase to the next floor to find in the same condition as the first one.

Kyle was curious to what caused the facility to be left in such a shape. He started picking up whatever research notes and papers he could find. They were mainly noninformative, stating whether random experiment numbers had gone successful and not going into details. Kyle found nothing of importance until he came to an open portfolio at the top floor. The portfolio was relatively new, but the contents inside were torn pages from an old notebook. It apparently belonged to one of the researchers considering everything was written in a similar handwriting.

_- 29 Dekemvrios 1993_

_Test subject continues to be unresponsive. Honestly, I don't know why the boss wants us to do this. This kind of research doesn't even fall into our category. Then again, he is paying us so I'll just go along for now._

_- 31 Dekemvrios 1993_

_We still can't figure out how this thing works and it won't talk either. It'll scream in pain, begging us to stop, but that's it. I feel bad for it, but who knows what'll happen if I get involved._

_- 5 Ianouarios 1994_

_I just talked with someone who works here and she told me stories about this thing. Apparently, the boss bought it from some robed guy. The stories that came with it weren't exactly . . . "exciting". I question why the boss wanted something that could cause that much misfortune._

_- 10 Ianourios 1994_

_Well . . . it finally worked. He snapped and finally talked. I still can't believe my ears. The boss is coming tomorrow now that the thing's finally going to cooperate. To tell the truth, I think it's a bad idea. I'm faking getting sick so I don't have to show up. I don't want to be anywhere near that place tomorrow._

_- 11 Ianourios 1994_

_Curiosity got the better of me. I wish I never left and stayed home. I still called in sick, but I decided to see what would happen. I brought my binoculars and hid beside a tree on the hilltop overlooking the facility. Now I saw the boss through the window. Obviously, I couldn't hear, but he was saying a lot of stuff with the other researchers watching. _

_Then it got worse. I saw a light fill that room to the brim and in seconds, the entire place exploded! I was so surprised that I fell back and started rolling down the hill. I stopped when I hit a tree and then saw the smoke rising. I quickly climbed back to the top and gazed at the remains of the factory. It was covered in raging fires. It was practically looked like a giant bonfire! I don't there was a single survivor who made it. There were about three bodies in the parking lot, but they were covered in flames, already dead._

_I just had to get out of there. I ran as fast as I could back home and locked the door behind me when I got there. All those people I knew, some of them my friends, gone just like that. I turned on the local news an hour later and there wasn't even a single mention of the explosion. I was confused, but I decided to wait it out till tomorrow._

_- 12 Ianourios 1994_

_Still no mention of the explosion. I even asked some people about it (In a way where they wouldn't get suspicious, of course) and they said they never heard anything. I didn't know how this was possible. I quietly went back to the facility and stood in disbelief. The entire building was good as new! Just how it looked like before it blew up. I went inside and found the place in a mess, but there was still no signs of an explosion happening._

_I'm a little scared. What was able to clean up this mess overnight? And wouldn't __**someone**__ be able to hear or see the explosion and then report it to the authorities? My head hurts. I don't know what to do. Everyone would just look at me like a weirdo if I tried to convince them._

The pages stopped there. It made Kyle a little uncomfortable standing in the building now.

"Do you know anything about this?" he asked Riyos.

"No. I have never heard of an event like this, but I do suggest you stay out of this for now. You may be getting yourself involved in something much bigger than you think."

Kyle Nanocom suddenly began vibrating. It was a call from Numbuh 2.

"What is it?"

"I heard Bubbles was looking for Bullet."

"Yeah, though I couldn't find anything in this forest here."

"That's because you're looking in the wrong place. I just got a call from Numbuh 3 at Mount Blackhead. She said one of our scouts spotted Fusion Bubbles wandering around area, _carrying a squirrel_ in her arms. I don't think a Fusion would be randomly carrying a squirrel with him. There's a SCAMPER at City Station Tower. That's probably the closest one to you. Numbuh 3 will meet you at Mount Blackhead."

Kyle hung up and left the building, taking the portfolio with him. He headed back to his apartment building as there was another entrance to City Station Tower. Besides the Slider System connecting the rooftops, there was also a system of ziplines. The tower's main lobby was always crowded so taking a zipline would be much faster. Kyle exited the elevator on the fourteenth floor and opened the door to the balcony by undoing the security lock with a password. He use the zipline which headed in a downward southeastern direction towards the tower's eighth floor.

City Station Tower was the tallest structure in Townsville. Many people liked to visit for the breathtaking view over the city and its surroundings. The eighth floor was an open area where the Slider System connected to each of the four balconies. After the invasion came, it was also converted into a base of operations and large scale transportation system for the KND and Monkey Minions.

Kyle landed on the western balcony and spoke with the nearby KND agent. He had already been informed of Kyle's arrival and told Kyle to climb aboard. Kyle sat back as they flew northeast towards the Wilderness. He looked out the window and watched each town pass by: Genius Grove, Pokey Oaks, and finally Peach Creek. The beginning of the Wilderness was too dense, but Kyle was able to remember where Camp Kidney was. He continued to wonder how the search for Coco was going. He hoped Mac had at least found out where to find her.

As the SCAMPER came across the bordering mountains, the Wilderness became much more open. Kyle could see the bare ground below him. Outside to the right, he caught a glimpse of a large lake in Infected Zone borders. In the center was an island that towered above the lake and vaguely resembled a spike. The island seemed to be originally more normal, but distorted laws had caused pieces of land to break off and form floating paths that wrapped around the island. Obviously, the lake was infected with Fusion Matter. What made it worse was the small river connected to the southern portion. The Dexlab shields didn't have the capabilities to block off water or even filter it so the river ended up suffering the same fate. The only good part was that the river didn't stretch that far.

"We're almost there." the pilot announced.

Outside the front windshield stood Mount Blackhead, a very large mountain that stood in the middle of the only path that went northward. Many people considered it the center of the Wilderness and the "Gateway to the Wilds" since spiked wooden walls surrounded the top. It was originally just a regular mountain with a slightly hilly summit, but one could consider it relatively smooth from a perspective. The Kids Next Door one day decided to take it for themselves and converted into one of their bases. They still let people pass and use it as shelter or camp, but when it came to their enemies, they'd defend it to the moment it fell.

Kyle exited as the SCAMPER landed at a designated platform in the southeast corner of the mountain. The base was basically a cluster of small treehouses connected by wooden bridges in a KND-like fashion and design. Wooden shacks and metal capsule-like buildings lied below. They were mainly either used for weapon and armor dealing or storage. Rooted to the center was a strange large tree. Its leaves were pink while the rest was colored a deep purple. There was a large oval-shaped portion of the trunk that was a lighter shade. Inside was an actual mouth. Kyle peered closer and noticed the vague outlines of eyes just a few feet above.

"You like the Magic Tree?" a familiar voice asked.

Kyle turned to see Numbuh 3 greeting him. She still retained that "happy" quality her Fusion had, but it was more natural and definitely no longer partially sadistic.

"You're Kyle, right?" she asked shaking his hand with her own still in her sleeves. "Numbuh 2 and Numbuh 5 have told me and Numbuh 4 a lot about you! I'm Numbuh 3, but you can call me Kuki if you want. I heard you defeated that Fusion of me in Habitat. Thank you! Who knows what she would've done to the monkeys who lived there!"

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't know? My Fusion was capturing any monkeys she could find and turning them into Fusion monsters! Those poor monkeys . . . We don't even know if we can cure them . . ."

Jake came to Kyle's thoughts. Kyle felt regret about not going after Fusion Numbuh 3 when he realized Jake could've possibly suffered that fate had Him not shown up at the right time.

"I see . . ."

"But at least you've stopped it for now! C'mon, we have to save Bullet! Maybe Fusion Bubbles is gonna do the same thing to her!"

Numbuh 3 sure was active in Kyle's eyes. She quickly grabbed a nearby Teddy Hurling Ultra Microwave Powered Ejection Rifle, the same weapon her Fusion had used, and dragged Kyle by the arm outside the northern exit. The path down was straightforward; it was only a slope which split into depending on which way one wanted to go. Numbuh 3 pulled Kyle to the left towards an Infected Zone bordered by wooden walls. It was smaller compared to the others Kyle had been to.

"This was our old training zone for our members." Numbuh 3 informed him. "Fusion Matter got crazy in there so we had to get Dexter to seal it up. I saw that girl in. C'mon!"

The two went inside and came to the base of a tree with a ladder hammered into the trunk. Numbuh 3 went first to make sure the coast was clear. She signaled to quickly come up so they wouldn't be noticed. As he was climbing, Kyle caught a glimpse of some new monsters. They were similar to the Magic Tree Numbuh 3 identified earlier, only normal in color. They stood almost three times the size of a normal human. The monsters were large trees mutated by the Fusion Matter. Kyle thought this was the cause of the area being so open compared to what he had seen before in Prickly Pines.

Numbuh 3 pulled Kyle to the wooden paths connecting the trees. They moved along until they were standing on the bridge above the center of the training zone. Numbuh 3 then pointed downward. Kyle couldn't tell what she meant. They were too high up so the branches and leaves obscured the ground.

"Over here." Numbuh 3 said as she crouched down near the ledge. "The Fusion Portal is down here. If we jump, we shouldn't be seen . . . Jump now!"

Kyle quickly followed Numbuh 3, almost tripping by her suddenly giving the command. They fell through the leaves and into the Fusion Portal directly below them. By the time Kyle emerged on the other side, Numbuh 3 was already a few feet ahead. She was extremely determined to rescue Bullet. Kyle followed closely behind her, making sure she wouldn't be suddenly jumped.

The lair was free of monsters, but the two remained as quiet as possible. They were going against a superpowered being after all. Kyle used his Megas Nano's Stealth Mode to quiet his footsteps. Numbuh 3 didn't really need any help due to her training and experience when it came to this kind of situation.

When the two came to the final chamber, Numbuh 3 didn't hesitate to rush in and shoot two of her rounds. Fusion Bubbles was in the middle of locking Bullet in a small cage. She heard the shots fired just in time and flew out of the way, dropping Bullet in the process.

"What the! What are you doing here!"

"Kyle!" Numbuh 3 exclaimed. "Get Bullet! I'll take care of her!"

"Oh no you don't!"

Fusion Bubbles fired a shot of her laser vision toward Bullet, intending to kill her as she saw the creature as a further threat if she recovered. Numbuh 3 quickly fired one of her teddy bears to intercept the shot and was just in time. Kyle gently picked up Bullet and took her to the far side of the room. He left his Eddy and Buttercup Nanos to guard the squirrel while he joined Numbuh 3.

Numbuh 3 fired another two shots at the Fusion, but both missed its marked. She only had one shot left, and it wouldn't prove much purpose using it now. Fusion Bubbles laughed and dove forward. Kyle quickly pushed Numbuh 3 out of the way as he dropped to the ground, barely avoiding being hit by the Fusion's attack.

"Augh! Hold still!" Fusion Bubbles exclaimed. "Take this!"

The chamber was immediately filled with supersonic vibrations and frequencies thanks to the Fusion's scream. Kyle and Numbuh 3 covered their ears, unable to move unless they want to damage their eardrums further. Kyle vocally summoned his Wilt Nano. The Nano was little affected by the Fusion's attack due to her Cosmix type being matched with his Blastons attribute. Kyle ordered Nano Wilt to use Nothing But Net.

Fusion Bubbles' eyes were closed as it was the only way to continue using her scream. It became her downfall as she didn't sense the net above her head. The Fusion then became pinned to the ground, unable to move. Kyle and Numbuh 3 slowly approached her, the latter ready to deal the finishing blow with her THUMPER.

"This is for hurting sweet little animals!"

Fusion Bubbles then suddenly went into a fit of rage, immediately breaking free from her bindings and knocking the two away from her towards opposite sides of the room. Since her anger was mainly towards Kyle, the Fusion instantly followed it up and flew towards him. Kyle barely had enough time by the time he regained his senses. He quickly rolled out of the way, letting Fusion Bubbles crash into the wall. He quickly stepped back as he ran over to Numbuh 3. Halfway across the room, Kyle heard the Fusion's roar. He turned his head to see her already emerging from the cloud of dirt flying full speed.

"Okay," he muttered, "that's it. You can take care of this . . ."

Kyle was consumed by his shadow in the exact same manner as before. Fusion Bubbles merely phased through the shadowed figure. This surprise quickly made her stop and she turned around in disbelief. The shadow subsided to reveal Kyle's possessed state. He calmly turned around and stared directly at the Fusion with his sword in his hands.

"I'm not scared!" Fusion Bubbles exclaimed as she jetted towards Kyle. "I'm hardcore!"

Kyle remained silent as he raised his sword with two hands. He didn't move from his current position and took one huge slash the moment he and Fusion Bubbles were face to face. Kyle stood back erect and he sheathed his sword as the Fusion flew right past him. In three seconds, her body split in half and dissolved into Fusion Matter before hitting the ground.

"Didn't look like it to me . . ."

Numbuh 3 was beginning to stir as Kyle reverted back to normal. He ordered his Buttercup and Eddy Nanos to bring Bullet to him as he helped Numbuh 3 to her feet. The Buttercup Nano, being the stronger one of the two, carried the squirrel herself. She placed Bullet in Numbuh 3's hands. In sympathy, Nano Eddy used his Jawbreaker Break on her. He didn't know if Nano powers had the same effects and applications on non-humanoid being, but it was worth a try. Bullet showed no sign of getting better, but she was still breathing and moving somewhat so there was still hope.

"Oh, poor bullet . . ." Numbuh 3 whined. "C'mon! We have to get her to the doctors back at the base!"

* * *

><p>"Bubbie! K'nuckles! Where are you! Help me!"<p>

"Why you runnin', lad! You afraid of an ol' Scotsman like me!"

"Get away from me! Aaaaaah! Bubbie! K'nuckles! Anybody! Help me!"

"It's no use', lad. No one is close to hear you!"

"Aaaaaah! Help- Huh?"

"How the? Where did you come from!"

"Wat're you doin' here! Git offa mah propertee!"


	40. Leaky Lake

**Chapter 40 – Leaky Lake  
><strong>

**Author Notes:**

**- **Deus Ex Machina to the rescue! . . . sort of.

- not sure of the proper spellings for "hillbilly talk"

* * *

><p>"Bullet! Please be okay!"<p>

Bubbles had quickly flown to Mount Blackhead the moment she receive the news Bullet was rescued and being treated. She and Numbuh 3 were in the treehouses' medical ward praying for Bullet's recovery. Even though the KND doctors weren't veterinarians, they were able to at least know that the little squirrel was getting better.

Outside, Kyle was sitting in a slouch atop a hill that gave a clear view over the southern walls. He didn't feel the need to return home so he just borrowed one of the treehouse rooms which Numbuh 3 was more than happy to agree to. It was a few minutes past high noon when Kyle heard the sound of shoes brushing across the blades of grass behind him.

"Thanks for helpin' Kuki, mate." the person said in an Aussie accent. A blonde male with a bowl cut that obscured his eyes; he wore an orange hoodie, saggy blue pants, and white sneakers. "Name's Wallabee Beatles, but people call me Numbuh 4 around here. I would've gone with you two if I was here yesterday."

"It's no big deal." Kyle responded. "It wasn't that hard anyway."

"Against a superpowered Fusion? Easy? Who do you think you are?"

"You haven't even heard of me?"

"Eh, I not into that readin' or watchin' the news crud."

"Then maybe you should know I have 'methods' of dealing with those kinds of Fusions."

"Well, as long as it gets the job done. Say, do you mind headin' out on a mission for us? Numbuh 2 said you'd be able to handle them by yourself."

". . . Sure. What's the assignment?"

"Numbuh 2 said you're from Townsville. You know Fuzzy Lumpkins?"

Fuzzy Lumpkins was one of the occasionally fought enemies of the Powerpuff Girls, a beastly bumpkin. He used to live the forest near Townsville but eventually moved out into the Wilderness when he could no longer tolerate the city's new increased activity thanks to Dexter's advancements. Normally he was relatively peaceful and harmless as long as no one came between him and his possessions. If that happened, he would be sure to go on a rampage which the Powerpuff Girls had to calm down. People usually identified Fuzzy by his large size, pink-furred body, blue overalls, big green nose, and his hillbilly tongue.

"I've seen him a few times." Kyle told Numbuh 4.

"He lives nearby Leaky Lake along the eastern mountains. It was hard, but we convinced him to let us set up a zipline between here and his place. He sent us a message last night using it. Took us a while to figure out what he was sayin'. He said he found Flapjack, a kid who came here a while ago."

"Yeah. I know Flapjack. I thought he found his friends since I didn't see him around here."

"That's because he snuck off without some of our guards! He seemed really set on findin' them. We need you to go get him back here. The kid doesn't have a Nanocom like you so he can't ride ziplines."

"Alright. I'll bring him back. Where's that zipline you set up?"

Numbuh 4 pointed toward a tower atop another hill. It was basically a tall, skinny, stone pillar with a platform on top of it. A rope ladder hung from the side to allow access to the top. Kyle climbed the ladder and came to a strange large monkey statue with four heads each pointing a direction. There were slots in their mouths for the lines to lock in, but only one of the heads was used for this one. The zipline itself was just an extremely long vine, a special breed that's extremely difficult to snap and cut apart.

Firmly latching on, Kyle propelled himself forward southeast. As he came closer to the Leaky Lake Infected Zone, he could easily spot Fuzzy's wooden cabin ahead. He soon descended the tower and knocked on the front door. Kyle heard sudden loud stomping footsteps and in a few seconds, Fuzzy opened the door.

"I thought I told you to git offa my propertee!"

"I came for Flapjack." Kyle replied wiping the saliva from his eyes.

"Who? Little Pancake? Hold on. Pancake! Git over here!"

Flapjack appeared from behind Fuzzy and quickly jumped and hugged Kyle tightly, happy to see a familiar face.

"Kyle! What're you doing here! I thought you were busy Peach Creek and stuff! And what's wrong with your hair?"

"I finished up there," Kyle told him, "and I stopped dyeing it black. Anyway, Numbuh 4 told me to bring you back. You shouldn't have wandered off in the first place."

"I know . . . but I'm just worried about Bubbie and Cap'n K'nuckles . . ."

Kyle could understand how he felt. It was difficult for him to resist wanting to help out the boy.

". . . Alright. I'll help you out, but if we don't find them around here, I'm taking you back. Okay with you?"

"Yeah!"

"If yer goin' to the lake," Fuzzy said as he grabbed his boomstick, "then I'm comin' too. There's a chance that ugly man who chased little Pancake is gonna show if you two are wanderin' around there and I want him gone!"

"Okay, you can lead the way. You know this place better than I do."

Fuzzy slammed his front door and took the lead, holding his boomstick in an aimed position, ready to fire at whatever came across his path. Kyle and Flapjack followed him down the dirt road westbound towards Leaky Lake. The soon to a long wooden bridge which was the only way to cross the river flowing out of Leaky Lake. To his right, Kyle took notice to the extremely large terrafuser. It was only halfway submerged and it was already bigger than an average home. He wondered what kind of monsters could be produced by it.

"You ever tried to destroy that thing?" Kyle asked Fuzzy.

"Plenty," Fuzzy replied, "but it keeps rebuildin' itself whenever I take a shot at it. I heard a freaky monster came out of that thing, but nobody knows if it's true or not."

"I see . . . Flapjack. Why are you looking here anyway? The ocean's not even connected to here. Your friends couldn't have ended up here."

"Yeah, but Double D said they would be here." Flapjack told him. "He said that the 'current' things could've sent them through an underwater tunnel."

"The boy's right." Fuzzy added. It's where all the fish in Leaky Lake used to come from before it turned green. From what Pancake's been tellin' me, they might have gone towards that Squirly Girls camp in Acorn Flats."

"Should we head there then and asked them?"

"No can do. Them guys dressed in black suits be blockin' the way."

"The SACT? Wonder what they're up to . . ."

At the end of the bridge, they came to the Infected Zone entrance. As programmed, the Dexbot attendant politely greeted. Fuzzy was quick to tell it to shut up and looked around for the man who chased Flapjack.

"He started chasing me in there." Flapjack told them.

"You went in there by yourself?" Kyle asked. "That's dangerous!"

"There weren't any monsters . . . and there was plenty of room to move around!"

"Where'd ya see 'im?" Fuzzy asked.

"It was climbing the mountain to see if I could see Bubbie and the Cap'n when he came out of nowhere . . . I was really scared. He started swinging his giant sword at me!"

"Don't worry." Kyle said, trying to comfort him. "Fuzzy and I will get him."

"Let's just git to the top and see if he shows up or if we see Pancake's friends."

One by one, all three went inside the Infected Zone and came to the lake's shore. Paths of floating bedrock lead to heights high above the lake and towards the center island and its spiraling rock walkway to the summit. Fuzzy took the lead again and directed the other two towards a floating landmass above the southeastern waters. Kyle helped Flapjack jump across the gaps he didn't seem able to handle.

After some time, the group finally made to the summit of the island. They hadn't seen or heard any sign of the target man. Flapjack began looking out into the distance trying to find Bubbie and Captain K'nuckles as Fuzzy kept watch. The boy continued to do so for a few minutes until he sat down in disappointment.

"I don't see them . . ."

"It's alright." Kyle told him. "I'm sure there out there looking for you as well. Don't give up. The KND'll be sure to help you. Let's just head back."

"Hold up!" Fuzzy exclaimed. "We still need to find that man who chased Pancake!"

"But never found him on our way here. Where could he be?"

Flapjack got up, ready to leave the Infected Zone, when the entire mountain began shaking tremendous. Fuzzy unexpectedly fell off, but he was able to grab hold of the ledge with one of his hands. He was determined to not let go of his boomstick in his other hand. Kyle was helping him back up when the mountain began shaking again. Flapjack was desperately holding onto the grass, but that proved useless when the cliffside suddenly broke off and started plummeting towards the lake.

"Flapjack!" Kyle exclaimed as he ran over to see if there was a way to save the boy. By the time he got looked over the edge, Flapjack's body had already splashed against the water. "Flapjack! Are you alright!"

Kyle kept on repeating Flapjack's name until he finally spotted a cluster of bubbles forming. Flapjack soon resurfaced, trying to get himself together.

"I'm okay!" he exclaimed.

"Get out of there now!" Kyle exclaimed. "Hurry!"

"What's the matter?" Fuzzy asked. "The water's not dangerous unless you stay fer like an hour or so."

"That's not it!"

Flapjack was looking up at the two, confused about what they were talking about. As he tried swimming back to shore, he noticed the water suddenly grow darker. Before he knew it, a giant mouth emerged from the water and swallowed him whole.

"Flapjack!"

"That's the giant monster people were talkin' about!" Fuzzy pointed out.

The shadow of the giant creature glided along the water's surface like a snake. It seemed to resemble the sea serpents of folklore. Kyle charged up his rifle and fired a full-powered blast at the water, hoping the electricity would draw the monster out. He couldn't do anything effective fighting underwater. The shadow snake began retracting like it was pain and quickly dived deeper. This was only a brief retreat and in a few seconds, a sea serpent made out of Fusion Matter emerged. Its body was long enough that its head was at level with the two. The creature had no arms so it mainly used its mouth and its own body as a weapon. Kyle had a feeling he had seen this creature's appearance before, but he couldn't remember where.

"Ahahaha! So ye finally came back?" a voice gloated in a Scots accent. "And who's the new lad?"

Standing atop the serpent's head was a large, heavy-muscled male Fusion in a red kilt and white shirt with torn short sleeves laughing his heart out. On his back, attached to a sash, was a large two-handed claymore. Kyle also noticed his left leg was replaced by an automatic rifle head; it acted like a peg leg only more deadly.

Fuzzy carefully aimed his boomstick. He threatened to shoot, but it probably wouldn't have hit anything due to how far away the creature was.

"Ye look like the lad who ruined all o our plans in the Suburbs." the Fusion said to Kyle. "Well, let's see how ye can handle this beast!"

The Fusion tightly grabbed the middle of the serpent's three horns extending from the top of its head as it lunged forward with force. Its extremely durable head was strong enough to break apart the mountaintop Kyle and Fuzzy were standing. They fell off opposite ends and both plunged into the lake. The serpent then quickly dove into the water, ready to take them out one by one.

* * *

><p>"He's still alive, right?" Kyle asked as he began swimming towards the water's surface.<p>

"As long as the digestive process of the creature is not a short one." Riyos responded.

"Then we can still save him . . . Cut open that thing and go inside?"

"If you say so . . ."

Kyle looked back and saw the creature speedily closing in on him with its mouth gaping open. He immediately let Riyos take control as he would be more able in handling this situation. The creature was only a few feet away when the transformation process was finished. Kyle held out his sword in a vertical position. The creature attempted to skewer him with its sharp teeth, but the blade held it open. The creature lunged back and shrieked in pain as Kyle reclaimed his sword. The boy quickly swam inside its open and down its throat.

The Fusion, still standing on the head, wrestled the creature to get it under control and stop it from thrashing.

"Calm down!" he exclaimed using a mental link. "Just go after the fuzzy creature with the shotgun!"

* * *

><p>Fuzzy had come ashore on the island. It was difficult to move now that his fur was wet and heavy. His boomstick also fell in the water and was rendered useless now that the gunpowder would no longer work. He was shaking himself, trying to dry off his body before the Fusion serpent showed itself again. Once he was able to move, he grabbed his boomstick and slowly backed away from the water. He hoped the Fusion would at least forget his shotgun was useless and stay back.<p>

After a few minutes, the serpent emerged with a tremendous roar. Fuzzy aimed his boomstick and threatened to shoot. The Fusion laughed in response. He lifted his rifle leg and fired a round, completely breaking Fuzzy's weapon apart. Fuzzy was panicking now, but he tried to hide it with an angry stare. He began hurling nearby boulders with his incredible strength, but the monster easily moved its body out of the way.

"Looks like it's the end for ya!" the Fusion exclaimed. "Alright, ma pet! Swallow him whole!" The serpent ignored its orders and remained still. "What's wrong wi ya?"

The serpent let out a powerful screen as it lunged back, tossing the Fusion into the water. It lied died, floating on the water when a sharp blade sliced through the chest and carved an opening. Fuzzy squinted and saw Kyle, still in his possessed form, emerging with an unconscious Flapjack on his should, both covered in Fusion Matter. Kyle quickly took Flapjack ashore and gave him to Fuzzy.

"How did ye find him?" the bumpkin asked.

"Don't ask." Kyle replied. "Just get him back to your cabin and take care of him. I'll meet you there."

Kyle dashed towards the mainland's shoreline where the Fusion had swum to. He was about to stab him, but the menace quickly turned around and blocked the attack with his claymore.

"Nice moves, lad." the Fusion remarked. "But don't be thinkin' that craitur wis more powerful than me!"

The Fusion continued slashing at Kyle with incredible speed. His strikes were fast enough to rival Samurai Jack's skills. It was even more impressive considering the size and weight of the claymore. The two continued exchanging blows for a period of time, neither even marginally slowing down a single moment during the struggle. Kyle eventually saw an opening and took the chance to attempt breaking the sword in two. With great strength, he struck the center of the blade. The Fusion blocked and stumbled back, but the sword remained unscratched.

"What kind of blade is that?" Kyle asked.

"Magic runes, laddie!" he responded pointing to the glowing inscriptions on his blade. "All those fancy techniques will get you nowhere! Now quit your jumpin' around and get to fightin'!"

"Hey! That's my line!" a voice exclaimed.

The Fusion turned and saw his red-haired human counterpart standing there with his arms crossed and a intimidating smile on his face.

"What're you doin' here?" the Fusion asked.

"Scouts over in Townsville were gossipin' over seeing someone like me runnin' around here though it looks like someone else is already taking care of it." He looked over to Kyle. "Right, lad?"

"You are not going to help?" Kyle asked.

"Please. This man ain't deservin' of fightin' two men at once. Take him out, lad!"

Kyle smiled while nodding as he continued his assault on the Fusion. Both combatants still remained untouched after a minute of fighting. The human man was heavily laughing at the sight.

"I guess what they say is true!" he remarked. "Some of you Fusions do fight evenly with the original!"

The man picked up a nearby boulder and tossed it at his counterpart. The Fusion had to dodge, catch, or break it. Any one of those choices would create an opening and make him instantly lose this conflict. He decided to go down fighting and slashed the boulder in two. Kyle lunged forward and stabbed the Fusion in the back while the human man lifted his rifle-leg and fired a round into his chest.

Kyle withdrew his sword from the body as the Fusion fell back in defeat. His mortally injured body began disintegrating starting from the soles of his boots.

"Failing means yer playin'. . ." he muttered with his last breath.

The Fusion was reduced to regular Fusion Matter leaving his claymore behind, but that soon dissolved as well. Kyle then reverted back to his normal self and looked at the man to see his reaction. He was simply smiling, clearly amused by this.

"So you're the boy everyone's talkin' about." he remarked.

"Yeah . . ."

"Well, what're you waitin' for? You gonna make a Nano from that stuff?"

Kyle nodded his head in agreement and aimed his Nanocom at the remains. The procedure went as it normally should until it reached the floating sphere phase. The light blue color suddenly turned deep black. Kyle stepped back in suspicion of something sinister emerging from the sphere. Light blue flames soon enveloped the sphere, intensifying every second. The man quickly pulled Kyle to the ground as the sphere burst into flames.

When they looked, they both saw a Nano taking the form of some demonic being. Its head was like a torch with a pointed grip. The top which acted like its hair was lit with the same light blue-colored flames. Its eyes, which had no pupils, and mouth, which had fangs, were also the same color. The skin was pure black and the torso was completely made out of skulls. The Nano wore a long black cape, though blood red on the inside, which it used to shrouded himself.

"Demongo . . ." the man said aloud.

"Who?"

"A powerful demon." Riyos informed Kyle. "He has the power to capture the 'essence' of a being and use it against his opponents."

"A friend of mine fought him before." the man continued. "I thought this guy was killed . . . But why would this Fusion be able to make this kind of Nano?"

The Demongo Nano hovered over to Kyle and bowed before him.

"A pleasure to serve you, master." he said as he disappeared inside Kyle's Nanocom.

"Are you sure you want to keep him?" the man asked.

Kyle responded by summoning his Him Nano.

"If I'm willing to keep a Nano of Him," he began, "then a Nano of this guy shouldn't be a problem."

"Ahahaha! I like you!"

* * *

><p>"I'm detecting more Fusion activity down there!"<p>

"Are you sure those reading are correct?"

"Yes! There's no mistaking- Wait . . . Max . . . Aren't these frequencies the same as your . . ."

"What? Let me see . . . But where did they get the data on how to do this? They're only on my- . . . Numbuh 1! Where's my laptop! I know I didn't have it with me yesterday since I forgot about it!"

"I don't know. I was on a recon mission yesterday."

"Max. I gave it to you yesterday. You were really worried about forgetting it so I went and got it."

"But I _never_ came back yesterday! I was surveying Galaxy Gardens all day!"


	41. The Fissure

**Chapter 41 – The Fissure  
><strong>

**Author Notes:**

- I'm typing this while Hurricane Irene is beating down on my house and neighborhood . . . I'm crazy

- since I decided to throw in the Lucubra portal from Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, I just hope future episodes won't end up destroying it so this chapter will at least make some sense according to the Ben 10 canon

* * *

><p>"Is he gonna be okay?"<p>

Kyle had brought Flapjack back to Mount Blackhead's medical ward once he was ready to be moved. The young boy was now resting peacefully beside Bullet who was still unconscious. Numbuh 3, Numbuh 4, and the large man were also in the room.

"He's fine." Numbuh 3 replied, rubbing Flapjack's forehead. "Poor little guy . . ."

"What were you guys thinking!" Numbuh 4 exclaimed. "Letting him get eaten like that!"

"Numbuh 4! Shush!"

"Hey, helping Flapjack was the only way to get him to come back willingly." Kyle told him. "And besides, those Fusions attacked first."

"What're ye KND doin' about the giant terrafuser by the lake?" the man asked. "Another serpent's bound to come out of it eventually."

"We'll have Dexter take care of that soon." Numbuh 4 answered. "By the way, who are you?"

"My name's not important, but feel free to call me the Scotsman. I've been hangin' around your friend, Numbuh 1 back in Townsville when I heard stories of someone who looked like me wanderin' around Leaky Lake."

"Numbuh 1. He's still not done there?"

"Have ye even seen the park right now? Well, ye can't even set foot in there without fallin'."

"What do you mean?" Kyle asked.

"The place is an Infected Zone now. A large fissure opened up and made everythin' sink into the ground. I feel sorry for those weird people that lost their jobs."

A deep rage was dwelling within Kyle. He had very strong memories of that park. Knowing that is has been completely decimated only made him angry. He hid these feelings with a calm expression, but couldn't help tightly clenching his fists.

"What do ye saw, lad?" the Scotsman asked Kyle. "We could use a man like you over there!"

"Oh . . . Uh . . . Alright."

"Tell Numbuh 1 that everything's alright here at Mount Blackhead." Numbuh 4 said.

"I will. And Numbuh 3, keep an eye on those two for me."

"Don't worry." she responded.

"C'mon, lad!" the Scotsman exclaimed. "We can use one of them fancy SCAMPERs!"

"You walked here from Townsville?" Kyle thought to himself.

The Scotsman dragged Kyle down a rope ladder and towards a nearby SCAMPER. He ordered the pilot to fly directly to Townsville Park. The park was located in the westmost district right next to Townsville Center. Once it came within sight, Kyle looked out the window to see what he heard to be true. He could barely see any remaining pieces of the park. Only the outer rim was left intact, but it was still left in destruction. Anything beyond the rim on the inside was in Infected Zone barriers. It was like a gigantic hole leading to the center of the planet; Kyle couldn't tell how deep it went. A small number of large floating land masses surrounded the Infected Zone, and it seemed they were only being held down and kept from moving by large powerful chains.

Kyle and the Scotsman disembarked when the SCAMPER landed in an encampment just outside the southeastern end of the park. It consisted of an entire city block that had three skyscraper buildings and a courtyard in the upper left part where most of the passenger ships landed. In the courtyard were tents belonging to either the Plumbers or the KND judging by the numbers of them wandering around the area.

The Scotsman led Kyle to the side of a nearby skyscraper. There seemed to be a sort of meeting area there. A large table with a map of the area was set up in the middle. Various markings accompanied by coordinate numbers and sidenotes were written all over the parchment. Parked next to the building was an old tan-colored RV though it was outfitted and modified with some much more advanced technology.

As the two approached, Kyle recognized a familiar face. Numbuh 1 was speaking with an old man around his mid or late sixties. He was slightly overweight and wore a red hawaiian-styled shirt with orange flowers. They both seemed to be worrying about something.

"Hey! I'm back!" the Scotsman loudly proclaimed.

"Scotsman," the old man said, "where have you been? We really needed your help."

"A Fusion of me was runnin' around Leaky Lake! I couldn't let somethin' like _that_ continue happenin'!" He then grabbed Kyle and held him by his neck with his arm. The boy was desperately trying to break free from the man's terrible body odor. "Besides, I brought this lad along! I'm sure he'll be a great help!"

"Kyle?" Numbuh 1 questioned. "Aren't you supposed to be with Numbuh 2 and the others back at the treehouse?"

"Numbuh 2 said he didn't need me around anymore since things quieted down over there." Kyle replied. "Now can you help get out of here? I don't know how long I can . . . hold my breath!"

"Scotsman, put him down."

"Aw c'mon, lad! Even the wimpiest man should be able to handle a little pit-stink!"

The Scotsman let go of Kyle as the boy lay back against a nearby tree to regain some fresh air.

"Numbuh 4 said things doing okay at Mount Blackhead." Kyle informed. "Though I'd let you know."

"Good to know those two are holding out." Numbuh 1 said. "Anyway, Scotsman, now that you're here along with Kyle, maybe resolving the current situation will become much easier. Max, you're much better at explaining things to him than me. Care to do it?"

"So this is Ben's grandpa." Kyle said to himself.

"Gladly." Max answered Numbuh 1. "While you were away, someone had impersonated me and stole my laptop with very important data on it. I believe it was a Fusion of me since the Fusion monsters in the Fissure are now using it for their own gain."

"So do ye want me to get the thing back or get rid of the Fusions?" the Scotsman asked.

"Either is fine, but getting back the laptop undamaged should be a priority."

"Is there gonna be an infiltration team?" Kyle asked.

"We'll have Kids Next Door and Plumbers coming with the four of us." Numbuh 1 replied.

"Ye didn't get that other lad?" the Scotsman asked.

"They wouldn't let him come with us."

"It doesn't matter." Max told them. "This is probably more than enough strength to take down whatever awaits us."

"We're meeting the entrance warp portal at the northern rim of the park in an hour." Numbuh 1 announced. "Don't be late or we're going on without you."

The four went their separate ways for now. Max and Numbuh 1 remained where they were to finalize their plans. The Scotsman went towards a nearby tent to retrieve some of his belongings. Kyle headed north along the rim of the park to explore and see what was left of the park.

Meanwhile, back at the meeting area, a small figure hidden amongst the leaves of a tree pulled a communicator from his pocket.

"Hey, man. The guys over here are goin' on some kinda mission in an hour. They're meetin' over at the Infected Zone entrance. Wanna tag along?"

"Finally! Some actual action around here besides the usual stuff! Alright, get back here before that old man or bald kid notice you. I don't know how much longer I can stall Six and Holiday. Geez, what did you do?"

"Nothin' special . . ."

"Everyone ready?" Numbuh 1 asked.

The entire infiltration team consisting of Max, Numbuh 1, Kyle, the Scotsman, and two squads of KND agents and Plumbers were all assembled by the entrance portal to the Infected Zone. Kyle walked towards the barrier and gazed below. The solid ground closest to the surface was about twenty stories below and that wasn't even the deepest part of the fissure. Kyle then looked towards Max who was only armed with a standardized Plumber rifle.

"You sure you can handle this?" Kyle asked him.

"What? Do you think I'm too old for this?" Max asked back.

"N-No! It's just-"

"Hehe. Don't worry. I can take care of myself."

"Alright, team," Numbuh 1 announced, "let's go!"

Numbuh 1 went first followed by his squad of KND agents. The Scotsman and Kyle proceeded inside afterward with Max and his Plumber squad right behind them. All of them emerged from the connecting portal twenty stories below. Kyle approached the nearby ledge and saw what became of the sunken pieces of the park. Directly ahead were the destroyed remains of the groundskeepers' house, fountain court, and outdoor dining plaza. The once lush green grass had almost completely disappeared leaving the barren dirt in its place. The Fusion Matter contamination only made things worse. Bodies of tainted water could be found scattered all over the plateaus of various heights. Land masses which broke off and various pieces of architecture were also floating above in the air, some of them acting as floating paths.

Numbuh 1 lead the team to a nearby series of ziplines set up to navigate the area. There were multiple lines people could take. Max and the Plumbers took the ones leading upward while the Scotsman and KND agent took the ones directly leading below.

"Where're you going?" Kyle asked.

"I've got aerial support." Numbuh 1 replied as he clicked his heels together. Metal 2x4 rocket thrusters appeared on the soles of his shoes and propelled him a few feet in the air. "Remember. Find that laptop and if it's in the hands of a Fusion, take him out!"

Numbuh 1 drew his Mustard Using Sidearm Kicks Enemy Tail, the pistol made out of a mustard bottle, and flew off. Kyle decided to follow the Scotsman's group so everything would be even in terms of numbers. He passed by several groups of two or three KND agents inspecting their assigned area before moving onto the next. It seemed the Scotsman was heading for the deepest part of the Fissure so Kyle went after him.

As Kyle went deeper, the sunlight that actually reached him steadily diminished. He had to resort to using Riyos' night vision. It was a mystery how the Scotsman could go this far without an artificial source of light. Kyle assumed the Scotsman's sword was enhanced with a special set of runes that allowed the blade to glow in the dark.

Kyle continued onward through the darkness unable to find a single trace of anything that could possibly lead to the missing laptop. Eventually, the ziplines began heading in an upward direction and sunlight began illuminating the area again. It seemed none of the KND agents had made it this far, but the Scotsman's trail was still strong.

"Geez. Where is this guy going?" Kyle said to himself.

As Kyle came to the next plateau, he had accidentally stumbled upon a Fusion monster den. The large creatures were a hybrid of asphalt and construction vehicles. They moved around on two feet and had large drills for hands like the Tech Tunnelers. The Nanocom identified them as Asphalt Freaks. The even larger ones were named Asphalt Freak Fathers. They weren't named for their appearance, but rather their eating habits. They particularly loved to use their drills to break apart solid asphalt concrete and eat the pieces like crackers.

One or the creatures drilling nearby took notice of Kyle and alerted the rest of its pack. One by one, each of the Asphalt Freaks began charging at Kyle with their drills already spinning. Kyle tried firing his rifle, but the monsters remained unfazed since their metal armor and drills absorbed the electrical effects. Kyle had to resort to using his sword, but taking on this many at the same time would be too much for him. He could only push them back or retreat back into the depths of the Fissure and hope the monsters couldn't see in the dark.

"I could use some help here." Kyle said mentally.

"I would rather not." Riyos replied. "I want to see how you can handle yourself without my help now. These are mere creatures considerably weaker than those abominations I have faced."

"I know that but . . . the numbers . . ."

Kyle began killing the ones in front of him by stabbing the vulnerable area above their iron jaws. It was difficult finding the right opportunity with six or more drills attempting to pierce his body. The Asphalt Freaks slowly began to overwhelm Kyle in numbers when the ones in front of him were suddenly taken out by plasma shots.

Kyle looked above to see Max, Numbuh 1, and their Plumber squad had arrived. Numbuh 1 flew down beside Kyle and began backing him up. Max and the other provided aerial support and did their best to prevent more monsters from approaching the other two.

"I thought you would still be with my squad." Numbuh 1 said as he fired his MUSKET. "What happened?"

"The Scotsman just left them and went on ahead for some reason." Kyle replied. "He's still up ahead."

"How did he get past these things then? He would've made a commotion the moment he saw these guys."

"Maybe they let him pass . . ."

"Are you suggesting he's working for Fuse?"

"I course not! But _something_ could've let him go through without a fight. Captured maybe? But there was no one else with him judging by the tracks . . ."

"Well, we're not going to get any answers just standing here. We'll make our way forward to the next zipline post. They won't be able to follow us then."

Numbuh 1 signaled Max with a hand sign and proceeded forward with Kyle. They quickly ran through whatever openings they or the team above could create. The two could no longer move forward when their path was now blocked by two Asphalt Freak Fathers. Five Plumbers had dropped down on ropes to assist holding back the smaller counterparts while Kyle and Numbuh 1 handled the larger ones.

"I'll take the one on the right." Numbuh 1 told Kyle. "Just hold off the other one till I finish mine off."

Numbuh 1 activated his rocket shoes and flew up to one of the monsters' heads. He tried firing his MUSKET, but it seemed to be too weak. He then drew explosive device from his vest pockets and implanted them in the asphalt. Numbuh 1 then quickly flew back and activated the detonator. In an instant, the monster's head exploded leaving a lifeless body. Numbuh 1 then looked towards Kyle who was able to keep his monster at bay, but noticed two Asphalt Freaks who managed to get past the Plumber defense and were about to drill Kyle from behind.

"Kyle," Numbuh 1 exclaimed, "behind you!"

"It's okay!" a voice suddenly responded. "We've got it!"

Numbuh 1 turned his head just in time to see a brown-skinned teenage male zoom past him with large, orange, turbine jet wings attached to his back. He wore a red-orange jacket over his half-blue, half-white shirt, black pants, and orange goggles over his eyes.

"You ready, Bobo?" he asked.

A brown-furred, pale purple-skinned chimp riding on the boy's back drew two large red pistols in a similar fashion to Numbuh 5. He strangely wore clothes, a tall skinny red hat, and an eye patch over his left eye. His shirt and shorts were grayish green in color and had blue linings. His shoulder pads and cuff-links were also light blue.

The monkey jumped off and began raining lasers above the Asphalt Freaks before finally landing on one that was approaching Kyle where he immediately fired a laser into its head, killing it. The other Asphalt Freak, now having its attention diverted towards the monkey, charged towards him. The simian was easily able to kill it by tossing a grenade that was attached to his belt into the creature's mouth.

"Rex!" he exclaimed towards the flying boy. Kyle was surprised he was intelligent enough to speak. "The bigger one's yours!"

"Rex" gave a thumbs up as his wings were surprisingly retracted and absorbed into his back. His legs and feet then suddenly grew large in size and morphed into full-blown machines at the same time. With his falling speed steadily accelerating, the boy landed directly on top of the Asphalt Freak Father who had just knocked Kyle over and crushed its head into pieces. Afterward, the boy's body returned to normal as he walked over to Kyle to help him up.

"Close call, huh?" he asked. "Name's Rex. The monkey's name is Bobo."

"Nice to meet ya." Bobo greeted Kyle.

"So you're that Kyle guy Ben told me about?"

"Yeah." Kyle answered as he nodded his head. "So, uh . . . what are you . . ."

"You mean my powers or Bobo being able to talk?"

"Uh . . . both . . ."

"We're both EVOs, but we don't go rampaging like the ones you see on TV. I get to make cool machines from my body while Bobo here . . . well, he's just got an intelligence boost."

"Hey! I'm still useful!" Bobo exclaimed. "I've saved your butt from getting killed y'know!"

"Oh, please. Says the guy who still wears diapers."

"It's a 'simian undergarment'! And what about you? 'Motorcycle underwear'?"

"Hey! You said you'd keep quiet about that! I'm _still_ trying to get that off people's minds!"

"Rex." Numbuh 1 said as he landed in front of the three. "I thought you couldn't come with us."

"Correction: _Six_ wouldn't let me come with you."

"Then how you convince him?"

"Let's just say that Max pulled some strings . . ."

"Well, it's good to have you with us. The more, the better."

"So what're we after? Fusion? Gooby traps? What?"

"Max's laptop was stolen by who we assume to be his Fusion. It had very important data that the Fusions are currently using. We need to recover that laptop and hope that the Fusion haven't already copied its data."

"So he's up ahead?"

"No. Actually, we're only came to this spot because we noticed Kyle here accidentally getting himself into trouble."

"Yeah." Kyle admitted embarrassed. "Thanks for helping . . ."

"But you should've been able to handle that thing. Why were you struggling?"

"My . . . uh, powers have certain 'requirements' if I want to use them . . ."

"I guess that makes sense."

"Rex." Numbuh 1 said. "What's that in your pocket?"

"You mean this?" he asked as he took a strange, glowing green prism out of his pocket. "Bobo was playing around with it before we came here. Where did you get this thing anyway, Bobo?"

"I overheard Six saying he confiscated it from some bratty girl in flashy gold armor at the mall. He said something about it being suspicious so he just took it from her."

"But it wasn't glowing when we had it earlier."

Numbuh 1's earpiece communicator then began ringing. It was Max who was slowly descending above them.

"Wait just right there." Max relayed to Numbuh 1. "That thing looks familiar." Max ran over to the group and took the prism from Rex's hands and examined it more closely. "No doubt about it. This is part of special alien tech. It allows the user to cloak a certain object or small area and render it invisible. This device is the only way to disable it."

"Maybe it's hiding the enemy hideout." Rex suggested.

"Yes. I think so to, but this kind of device is above this planet's normal technology level. I overheard you guys say a girl at the mall found it, right? How did find this?"

"That doesn't matter right now." Numbuh 1 said. "The Scotsman could be in danger."

"Right. I'm sorry."

Max began to fiddle around with the prism's touch controls. He clearly knew what he was doing judging by how precise his finger movements were. In a few seconds, the prism hovered on its own and began heading southward towards the next plateau.

"Follow it." he ordered. "Make sure no monsters get close it. If it gets destroyed, then we may probably never find whatever the device is cloaking."

Max and Numbuh 1 took the lead. Kyle, Rex, and Bobo followed afterward with the five Plumbers behind them.

"So you know Ben?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah," Rex replied, "we play Sumo Slammers online sometimes with our others friends and sometimes go on missions together. You're lucky you're friends with him and Dexter. If it weren't for him, Dex, and some others, White Knight would've sent a brigade and maybe even me after you."

"'White Knight'?"

"Leader of Providence, buddy." Bobo answered. "He kinda saw you more of a threat from what he saw of you."

"I see . . ."

"Pretty sweet powers though." Rex told Kyle. "Where'd ya get 'em?"

"I'd . . . rather not say."

"Hey, you three!" Numbuh 1 exclaimed. "Get over here!"

Kyle, Rex, and Bobo noticed they have fallen behind. They quickly ran forward and followed the others up the next zipline. The prism diverted from its straight path and towards a corner with a cluster of terrafusers. It then shined a wide ray of light on area. Slowly, a Fusion Portal appeared out of thin air. Now fulfilled its purpose, the prism immediately crumbled into dust.

"So it's a Fusion Lair." Numbuh 1 remarked.

"But how do we know that Scotsman guy went in there?" Bobo questioned.

"He's in there." Kyle assured them. They all noticed his eyes had turned blood red.

"Woah . . ."

"How can you tell?" Max asked.

"I can see people's tracks on the ground." Kyle responded. "The Scotsman's end right at that Fusion Portal."

"Alright, I guess we're going in." Numbuh 1 determined.

"Are we all going in?"

"My Plumbers are more than enough to guard the portal." Max told him. "Everyone else follow me."

One by one, the five proceed inside the portal. The remaining Plumbers then surrounded the portal in a star-like formation, readying their weapons for whatever might come their way.

At the other end of the portal, the five came to the first cavern. Max and Numbuh 1 scanned the area ahead and found no signs of lifeforms.

"Where does the trail go?" Numbuh 1 asked.

"Follow me." Kyle told them and he took the lead.

The group proceeded as quietly as they could. After a few minutes, they began to hear the faint sound of drilling noises. The quickly ran forward now that the sounds of the footsteps were drowned out. Kyle held the others back as he and Max peered around the corner to see what was happening.

A large group of Asphalt Freaks were drilling apart the chamber's walls. They seemed to have unearthed a strange oval-shaped portal-like structure with strange markings. The monsters were in the process of fully revealing it. Standing on a floating platform was their commander, Fusion Max. Kyle deduced that the platform was the probable reason why there were no other tracks alongside the Scotsman's.

Kyle diverted Max's attention to the side of the chamber. They saw the Scotsman against the wall with his upper body and ankles tied up with a strange flexible metal and mouth gagged with a cloth. He seemed to be desperately break free, but the metal was too powerful for even a man of his physical power to break.

"What's goin' on?" Rex asked.

"The Scotsman's been captured." Max responded. "We'll need someone to go rescue him."

"I'll do it." Kyle told them. "You guys know how to deal with these monsters better than me."

"Alright, then rest of you follow me and give it your all!"

Together, the group of four charged in and opened fire. The Fusions were caught off guard and immediately suffered some casualties. Fusion Max had gotten knocked off his platform thanks to Rex firing a boulder with his hand that was now transformed into a large cannon-like machine. The Fusion grabbed his rifle which had fallen off with him and began firing and backing away.

Now that the monsters were distracted, Kyle made his move and ran towards the Scotsman. He used his sword to cut apart his bondages.

"Thanks, lad!" he exclaimed as he readied his claymore. "What took ye so long?"

"We ran into some monsters outside." Kyle replied.

"Well, it took ye long enough. Let's go!"

Kyle and Scotsman charged forward and joined the others. The Asphalt Freaks were being drawn into a panic now that their numbers were dwindling. Fusion Max continued backing away and was soon cornered and defenseless on six sides.

"Y-You wouldn't kill an old man, would you?" he asked in vain.

"You're not even human." Bobo answered and he fired two rounds at him.

Fusion Max was reduced to plain lifeless Fusion Matter. Kyle approached the remains and created a Nano. In a similar fashion like before, a different expected Nano emerged. It was a large, muscular, and red-skinned humanoid with four arms and four yellow eyes. It wore a white t-shirt with a black stripe down the center and black skin-tight pants.

"So my Fusion makes Fourarms." Max remarked. "And it's the one from six years ago . . ."

"'Fourarms'?"

"He's one of my grandson's first alien transformations though this particular appearance is his ten-year-old one. If Ben transformed into Fourarms now, he'd look completely different."

"Weird . . ."

"I'll be sure to ask Dexter about this find later. Anyway, has anyone found my laptop."

"It's over here!" Rex pointed out.

Laying on the grounded platform was Max's laptop. It was slightly damaged, but still operational. Max opened it and started browsing its recent history.

"It looks like the Fusions copied your frequency data as well the other stuff on your hard drive," Numbuh 1 said aloud.

"That's okay." Max told him. "They copied _every_ file I had on my laptop. I had programmed a fail-safe in the case of this happening. Once they attempt to open these files on another computer, they should delete themselves so we have nothing to worry."

"Wow, that's good thinking, Max." Rex commented.

"What is that frequency data for anyway?" Kyle asked.

Max pointed to the unearthed structure.

"It's for unleashing the creature sealed inside that thing. I won't say what it is, but you guys are better off not knowing."

"Why don't you just get rid of it then if you don't want others to find out?" Rex asked.

"Because you need this data if you want to reseal it. I'm just glad Fuse didn't get a chance to open this thing."

"But what about those earlier readings?" Numbuh 1 questioned.

"They must've just been early attempts. This data isn't fully complete. They must've tried to finish it on their own and failed."

"Well, that's good." Rex remarked. Just then, his communicator eyepiece began vibrating. "What is it?"

"Rex." a female voice answered. "It's Holiday. Where the heck are you? There's an EVO going on a rampage in Orchid Bay and neither you nor Bobo have been responding to our calls!"

"Sorry, doc! We're going now!" He then looked towards the others. "Sorry guys! Official business! Gotta go! C'mon Bobo!

"Sir, please let me through! You have to!"

"I'm sorry, but this area's restricted. Unless we see some paperwork approving your passage then we can't let you through. If your wish to head to the Pimpleback mountain range, then please proceed to Mount Blackhead and request a flight from the Kids Next Door."

"But the Squirrel Scout camp is in there! We haven't heard from them for a while now! What if something terrible happened to them?"

"I'm sorry, but I still can't let you through. In the event of lost refugees or civilians being found, they will be under our personal care until our operations here are completed."

"But-!"

"Look, man. Let's just go. It's useless to argue with these guys."


	42. Suspicion

**Chapter 42 – Suspicion  
><strong>

**Author Notes:**

- Reason why I haven't been updating is because I got my Japanese import copy of Tales of Xillia about 2-3 weeks ago and have been addicted to for a while ( :3 JudexLeia :3 ). That and school work during the weekdays.

**- **Yeah, I just remembered that I forgot to fix something when I rewrote the original Chapter 5 for this story. (I accidentally made Kyle unfamiliar with Mojo Jojo) I'll try to fix it . . . if I manage to get off my lazy ass

- I haven't watched the Powerpuff Girls movie in a long time, but if I remember it correctly, Mojo tricked the girls into building his volcano lair. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

- Len is just a sub-plot-specific OC. I don't think I'm using him again unless something happens that needs him

- I'll be taking a break from writing more chapters to go back and correct some things. No, it's not another rewrite of my story. I'm just going to go fix my grammar and spellings mistakes. I can't believe I didn't notice some of them. **ESPECIALLY** Ben's "Reakky" line when it was supposed to be "Really". Seriously, I think there's something wrong with my Microsoft Word. It seems to be changing grammatically correct sentences in incorrect nonsense sentences automatically sometimes . . .

* * *

><p>Kyle was leaning against the railing on his building's rooftop, looking down below at the minor activity. It was strange for him to see Townsville this quiet now. He looked directly ahead and saw a park in the distance. It didn't even compare to Townsville Park in size, but it was still popular, or infamous depending on how one looked at it.<p>

Standing in the center of the one and a half acre park was Mojo Jojo's volcano lair. Kyle questioned why the founders decided to build a city around a volcano, but it was pointless to argue since it was possible to move an entire city now. Atop the mouth of volcano was an observatory-like structure that Mojo Jojo lived in. He had tricked the Powerpuff Girls into building it when they were still "newborns". Normally, people ignored it and had their usual playful fun in the park. Mojo didn't seemed to care much as long as it didn't interfere with his plans or cause major damage to his home.

Kyle noticed Mojo's large telescope was out pointing east. It seemed to be waiting for moment Planet Fusion would appear over the horizon.

"Mojo must be really mad at Fuse." Kyle said to himself. He then answered a call on his Nanocom which had been vibrating and ringing in his pocket for some time now. A live holographic image of Max appeared when accepted the call. "Hey. What is it?"

"Are you busy?"

"No."

"Good. Do you mind heading to the Pimpleback Mountains?"

The Pimpleback Mountains were a mountain range particularly famous for its incredible abundance of valuable and precious crystals. It wasn't a popular tourist destination since it was practically isolated, but those who visit usually do so only for the beautiful crystal mine.

"I don't mind," Kyle told Max, "but what do you need me to do all the way out there?"

"My granddaughter and Ben's cousin, Gwen, is there with a team of Plumbers. She messaged me that she needs some help with an issue they're having. Due to your . . . popularity, I suggested you and she agreed. Sorry about not asking you first."

"It's alright. Is there anything else I need to know about this?"

"Just be aware that the SACT have blocked off the only land route that leads there. You'll have to take a ship. I'd try asking the Kids Next Door's SCAMPER pilots."

"Understood."

Kyle walked downstairs and headed to City Station Tower using the zipline route and requested a flight to the Pimpleback Mountains. The pilot responded with a strange look, curious of why Kyle wanted a flight to there.

"Alright." he said. "But just be warned that we don't have a SCAMPER station there. You'll have to take one of Mojo's monkeys to Mount Blackhead if you want to find another SCAMPER."

"That's fine. There's just something really important I need to do there."

The SCAMPER eventually came over the Leaky Lake area. They could see the SACT barricade to his right. Numerous black and grey vehicles with shady agents guarding them formed a wall and blocked the only entrance to the neighboring area. Kyle tried to see what was behind them, but the abundance of trees was just as dense as Prickly Pines. The only thing he could clearly see was the towering dead tree near the center of the area.

Kyle then stood up in surprise when he noticed the SCAMPER changing course from their southeast direction.

"Sorry, man." the pilot told him. "Whoever was in charge of the fuel forgot to fill up the ship. We'll have to stop at Mount Blackhead. You don't mind waiting half an hour do you?"

"Sure. Go ahead."

The ship managed to reach the destination safely, only second before the point of dropping out of the sky. Once they landed, Kyle headed to the strange purple tree. He was still curious about what it really was, but he just wanted another look. Still observing it as he approached the trunk, Kyle noticed two familiar faces sitting back in the shade, Slinkman and Mac. It seemed the former was depressed about something and Mac was trying to raise his spirits.

"Guys?" Kyle wondered aloud as he walked towards them.

"Oh, hi Kyle." Mac greeted him.

"What're you doing here? You found Coco yet?"

"No. Lazlo, Raj, Clam, and even Lance at times have searched and asked around."

"Then why did you come here?"

"We didn't want Slinkman to go off by himself so me, Lazlo, and the others came along. He was trying to get into Acorn Flats, but the SACT wouldn't let him inside."

"What happened?"

"Nobody's heard from the Squirrel Scout camp for a while now." Slinkman answered. "They're the all-girls rival camp to Camp Kidney. I'm just worried something happened to them."

"After we were turned down, we tried to go back to the camp." Mac continued. "But then we ran into a horde of those weird spider-wolf monsters and had to find somewhere else to stay. We eventually ran into a talking, weird, pink-furred thing and Clam managed to convince him to let us use his zipline here."

"Where are those three anyway?" Kyle asked.

"I gave them free roam." Slinkman replied. "If they listened to my instructions, they haven't left the fortress."

"Well, I'll try to find out more about this, but I need to do a job first. Are you guys heading back to Camp Kidney by SCAMPER?"

"Uh, no. We're going back by foot once the Kids Next Door tell us the path is safe and that pack of monsters have been reduced. Lazlo was eager to earn some badges and we caught glimpses of ideal places for them on our way here."

"Alright, I guess I'll see ya. Mac, I hope you find Coco."

Kyle headed back to the SCAMPER station and waited for the pilot to let him aboard. Now back on course, the ship headed towards the Pimpleback Mountains again. Kyle looked outside and saw the ship flew over a chain of mountains that bordered Acorn Flats from the east. He could see a small mountain pass towards the south. It appeared to the only way into the neighboring region.

The land below the SCAMPER was mostly open, barren, and hilly. Lone trees or small occasional groupings of trees were the only signs of plantlife. Along the north side were the Pimpleback Mountains themselves. They stood a towering height over the area, comparable to a skyscraper. To the south, part of the land had sunk in an oval-like shape to form what looked like a giant bowl. In the same direction, Kyle could see a cluster of wooden cabins resting at the bottom. He could make out wooden archways and openings in the sides. It looked like an abandoned mining camp since there wasn't a single sign of human activity.

"Hey," the pilot said, "we're here. Again, sorry about that stop at Mount Blackhead."

The SCAMPER came to a stop above a mining camp at the base of two intersecting mountain chains. It was bordered by a simple wooden fence, but guard towers had been placed to provide extra protection. Kyle could see Plumber agents wandering about the premises. Armed one were basically on patrol. Any other were either moving around supplies, performing research in occupied cabins, or simply socializing.

Kyle exited the ship once it landed by the campfire area. He was immediately greeted by a teenage girl around his age. She was a long-haired redhead with a ponytail and wore a white long sleeve shirt, a red sweater, black mini skirt, and stockings. Assuming she was the cousin of Ben Max was talking about, Kyle knew she was far from having a normal life. He couldn't tell what it was, but he could feel something emanating from her body.

"Nice to meet you." she greeted him. "I'm Gwen Tennyson. My Grandpa Max sent you here, right?"

"Yeah. Sorry for being late. I had to stop by Mount Blackhead . . ."

"It's alright. I'm just glad you're here."

"So that 'issue' you were having?"

"Yeah. You know those SACT guys blocking access to Acorn Flats? Well, they've expanded that blockade to the area south of here, the Haunted Ridge."

The Haunted Ridge was an area known for reports of supernatural activity. This reputation, however, was acquired more than a century ago so people didn't association it with possible alien activity until now. Kyle had heard of it before, but he never learned of its location.

"What are they trying to do?" Kyle asked.

"That's what I want to know. We just got asked to move out of the area by them as well. It looks like they want control of this region for some reason."

"You want me to spy on them and find out why?"

"Look. I don't want to get you in trouble with those guys, but we have to do something about this. Ben's told me what you're capable of so it should be easy for you to not get detected."

"Alright, I'll do it. But do you mind if . . ."

"What is it?"

"Well, friends of mine were trying to get into Acorn Flats, but those guys wouldn't let them through. Apparently, there's a Girl Scout camp in there and nobody has seen or heard from them."

"What? That's horrible! They haven't shown up at Mount Blackhead or Camp Kidney?"

"No."

". . . Then that changes some things . . . Okay, I'm coming with you."

"What?"

"I might know a way on how to find them if we manage to get inside that camp. C'mon!"

Gwen left a squad of Plumbers in charge as she took off with Kyle behind her. The dirt path was pretty straightforward. It only branched off twice to the south and once to the north through Gwen kept heading right down the center. After a couple minutes of walking, they saw the mountain pass leading to Acorn Flats up ahead. A pair of SACT guarded the entrance with their rifles. Gwen pulled Kyle to the side and made their way northwest. They came to the base of the western mountain chain, far away enough from the guards so they wouldn't see the two.

"Stand back for a bit." Gwen cautioned Kyle. She calmly took a few steps forward into the air. Below each of her footsteps appeared a thin pink panel of solid energy which she used as steps.

"Alright. You can follow me now."

Kyle did what she said and began climbing this newly formed staircase. The panels quickly faded into nothingness once he had passed them.

"What is this?" Kyle asked.

"Mana. It's the life energy that every living being possesses. I'm part Anodite, an alien race of sentient energy beings. We can control the mana in our bodies and around us like what I'm doing right now."

"Cool . . ."

"The SACT shouldn't be guarding the mountain summits. It's too much trouble so we'll be able to get unnoticed. The real problem is how many SACT agents we'll find in there."

The two came to the summit and rested for a few minutes to regain their energy from the climb. Kyle ended up using one of his Nanos to speed up the process. They then descended and took covered behind the trees. There was no sight of SACT agents nearby, but Gwen suggested that they play it cautiously and stay within the safety of the shadows.

Using the dirt road as a guide, they cautiously walked southeast, taking cover when the sound of patrolling agents could be heard. Eventually, they came to the base of an elevated area. Erected there was the front gate to a camp. It seemed the lock had been torn apart as the gate was swinging with the breeze. Luckily, no SACT agents were stationed to guard it so Kyle and Gwen proceeded inside. At the summit, they came to a terrible sight.

"Oh my- . . ."

The camp was lying in complete ruin. Cabins and other buildings were in shambles and the watchtowers had been toppled over. Anything that still managed to survive intact by whatever caused the destruction was drenched in Fusion Matter or covered in terrafusers.

"Don't tell me that Fuse got them . . ." Kyle worriedly muttered.

"We can only hope." Gwen replied as she walked towards the nearest cabin. She pressed her ear against the wood listening for signs of movement inside but heard nothing. Carefully opening the door, Gwen walked inside with Kyle behind her.

It was a single-room living space for a group of campers, clearly all female judging by the contents lying about. The interior was mainly undamaged, but the floor was covered in a cluttered mess. Fusion Matter was leaking through the cracks on the roof and dripping onto the floor.

Kyle closed the door and kept watch by the window as Gwen began sorting through the belongings. He noticed her eyes glowing the exact same pink color as her energy panels. It gave him goosebumps if he thought about it too much.

"What exactly are we trying to find?" Kyle asked.

"Something with a strong trail of mana from one of these girls. If they're all together, then I can probably track them down if they haven't gotten far . . . But some of this stuff has Fusion goop on it. I'm not sure on the specifics, but they interfere with the mana signatures . . ."

Gwen walked towards a wardrobe cabinet that seemed untouched by Fusion Matter. Opening it, she found a large assortment of jungle exploration equipment. It was confusing considering there was no jungle-like terrain near this area.

"This'll work." Gwen remarked. She grabbed a whip, evidently used as it was a little worn, and began focusing her energy. Her eyes glowed pink again as the whip, also surrounded by the same colored aura, levitated in her hands. Kyle waited half a minute where Gwen finally stopped but with a disappointed look on her face. "I'm sorry . . . But the good thing is that this girl is alive! I just can't find her location for some reason . . ."

". . . It's alright. You did your best. Let's just get out of here. Those SACT guys could show up any time . . ."

"Hold on. Maybe if I try another item we can-"

"It's no use. There're three SACT agents coming!"

Gwen peered outside window, enough to not be seen easily, and saw the SACT group coming over the ridge. They seemed to be here to inspect the area since they split up. This would've been a good opportunity to escape, but one of the agents was walking towards the cabin.

"What'll we do?" Kyle worriedly asked. "We can't move without someone noticing us."

". . . I guess we have no choice. We have to knock him out along with those other two."

"But they'll get suspicious once they wake up or some other group finds them . . ."

"Well, it's better than getting capture or starting a fight. Besides, as long as they don't see us, they'll have no reason to question us."

"If you say so."

"Alright. Quick! Crouch down and hide by the door!"

Kyle did as Gwen instructed and quietly waited for the door to open. The approaching SACT agent shined his flashlight through the windows, but the angles of the rays were not enough to reveal the two's shadows. Thinking the coast was clear, the SACT agent calmly walked inside. The moment he came into sight, Gwen immediately engulfed his weapon in mana extending from her hand. The agent pulled the trigger as a reaction, but the mana coating neutralized most of the sound, enough for the other two agents to not hear it. Before the man could turn his head to see his attackers, Kyle had already stood up and drawing some influence from Riyos, he struck the back of the man's head with the hilt of his blade, enough to render him unconscious.

"Nice work." Gwen commented. "Now for those other two . . . We could go find them ourselves or wait for them to come her . . . But that would also risk them coming together . . . What do you think?"

Kyle pondered his thought before coming to a solution. "I have an Eduardo Nano. He can sense the location of any nearby living beings. And I have a Megas Nano which'll make things even easier."

"Perfect! Let's go for it."

Kyle summoned his Eduardo Nano and utilized his "Who's There?" power. Now endowed with heightened senses, the Nano nervously listened closely for the other agents' footsteps. They each seemed to be at opposite sides of the camp so the two didn't have to worry about running into both at the same time. Kyle thanked the miniature Eduardo as he withdrew him and replaced him with his Megas Nano. Gwen went ahead so she could minimize unneeded noises.

Around the corner of a cabin, Gwen surrounded the Megas Nano in a barrier and immediately propelled him forward once the nearby SACT had her back turned. The barrier expanded on contact and engulfed the SACT agent, neutralizing her gunfire. The Megas Nano then used his 8-Ball Fireballs to knock out the female. He signaled back a peace sign to indicate that the attack worked.

"One down." Gwen said to herself. "Great job with telling your Nano to use his powers, Kyle . . . Kyle?"

Gwen heard no response and turned around to find Kyle missing. She yelled his name forgetting about the other agent still wandering the campground. Unable to speak due to being base off a non-sentient robot, the Megas Nano couldn't relay the message of what he was told earlier.

"Kyle! Where are you!"

"Shhh! You'll draw more of them here!" Kyle whispered back. He had appeared right behind her with his sword grasped in his hand. "Sorry. I forgot Megas couldn't talk. I was gonna make him tell you that I went to take out the other agent. Hehe . . ."

"And I thought you were the kind of guy who thinks things through . . . Anyway, so you got him?"

"Resting easy. Let's just get out of here quickly."

"Leave it to me. I don't sense any more humans besides those three so it should be safe to do this . . ."

Gwen stretched out her arms and waved them, focusing her energy again. Kyle felt a strong wind resonating around them. He then noticed both he and Gwen rising into the air having been propelled by swirling mana below them. The size of the mana continued to grow and eventually surround the two in a swirling tornado. Kyle had to close his eyes when a sudden light flashed. In what felt like a second, the tornado then subsided and dropped the two on the ground.

Kyle was helping Gwen to her feet. Whatever she did, it greatly wore her down. Kyle looked around saw they were back at the Pimpleback mining camp. A small group of Plumbers who noticed them were already rushing towards them.

"What the hell happened!" the leader of the group exclaimed. He was a blond man with a strong build. He was equipped with a standardized Plumber battlesuit. It seemed he had made modifications to it as the metal coating was colored yellow and brown. The man then looked at Kyle with disdain. "You! You did this! I knew I shouldn't have let Max send a freak like you here!"

"Len!" Gwen exclaimed stepping between the two. "You know as long as I'm here, you have no authority to discipline anyone!"

"Tch! You just lucky you're the boss' granddaughter." he mumbled as he grudgingly walked away.

"Nothing to worry about, everyone." Gwen addressed, leaving her and Kyle alone as the Plumbers went back to their regular duty.

"You alright?" Kyle asked.

"What? Len? He's just has a large ego. Thinks he can do whatever he wants since he believes he best out of the group. Sorta reminds me of someone I know . . ."

"I meant you. That teleportation thing you did back there really did a number on you."

"Oh. Right. It's alright. I just need to rest. But what about you? Sorry about . . . what Len said about you."

"It's no big deal. I know how to deal with it."

"Hey, if it cheers you up, I still brought the whip with us. Once I'm done her and get freetime, I'll immediately start working on finding those missing campers!"

"Thanks. And, um, if you find them and can't reach me, the guy who's looking for them is a talking banana slug named Slinkman. I think he's the assistant for the scoutmaster at Camp Kidney."

"Slinkman. Got it."

"Alright, you wanted me to check out the Haunted Ridge, right?"

"Wait! You've done enough for today. You can leave that for tomorrow."

" 'done enough for today'? Shouldn't I be saying that to you? Besides, I'm curious about what these SACT guys are up to . . ."

* * *

><p>"Sample had been acquired."<p>

"Good. Return to base camp now so we can further analyze it."

"If I may ask, why can we just take the whole thing?"

"Doing that would require transporting large equipment and would in turn draw more suspicion. We can't risk that, soldier."

"Ah, yes. I apologize for not considering every possibility."

"Has your team encountered any of 'them' yet?"

"One man claimed to have seen a pair run off into the mines, but we didn't pursue due to the sheer amount of tunnels they could've escaped through."

"Leave some of the group to stay behind. We need to capture at least one of them alive before we can finally leave."


	43. Outsider

**Chapter 43 - Outsider**

**Author Notes:**

- Jinn is so rude. Let the man finish for God's sake.

- It's short (And I think its awkward), I know. But I just can't really find any inspiration for this chapter...

- Used British spelling for "ax" since I like it better

* * *

><p>"There a story, y'know. Of a miner who disappeared without a trace while on duty. Some say a ghost or a demon dragged him to the depths of the Underworld. Logical people would assume he got caught in a cave in or got crush by a falling boulder. What do I think? I blame aliens. Think about it. What kind of technology do they have that we don't? They could've easily teleported him to their mothership or simply turned him into granite. Some people think it's crazy. Well, they're the crazy ones for not believing me! Look around you! They're been among us since civilization began! You best friend, hell, even your mother or father could be an alien! Believe me or not, it's your choice, but don't blame me once they've grown to planet-conquering levels!"<p>

* * *

><p>"Man, this place feels creepy." Kyle quietly muttered.<p>

He was standing by the eastern rim of the Haunted Ridge's large pit. A quick scan of the area revealed it to be populated with more of those spider-wolf hybrid monsters. There was only a small number of places where one could safely climb out. If Kyle fell in, he would surely be outnumbered. Kyle kept to the dirt path that circled the pit. There was no use to hide due to the low abundance of trees in this region. He'd be an easy sight practically anywhere, but at least he would be able to make a hasty retreat the moment he was spotted.

As Kyle came closer to the southern half of the pit, he noticed a cluster of cabins resting below. It really was an abandoned mining camp. The nearby mining tunnels only further proved the assumption. The camp was covered to the brim with Fusion Matter. It seemed pitiful at first, but one would have to realize that this much infection would warrant this area to become it's own Infected Zone. Kyle contemplated contacting Gwen for some advice or assistance about it, but then came to think the _something_ was holding back this infection. Further down, Kyle noticed a large crater directly south of the mining camp. Resting there was a large meteor. It was glowing with a bright yellow aura. It seemed that the Arachnids didn't dare approach the object without harmful endangerment to themselves.

"Kyle. Someone's approaching from the south." Riyos stated.

Kyle quickly stepped back and ran towards a nearby tree and hid behind the trunk. He stuck out his head just enough for a small glimpse. Approaching along the dirt path was a patrolling female SACT agent. She was accompanied by her male partner driving a small transport vehicle carrying even more operatives. They descended the slope and headed towards the closest mine tunnel.

It seemed a little redundant at the moment to do this, but Kyle contacted Gwen to report.

"I saw a large group of SACT agents heading towards the mines. Should I follow?"

"No." Gwen replied. "It's too risky even for someone like you. How big was the group?"

"Around fifteen, I guess?"

"Hm. That's definitely a lot of people on hand to send if they just occupied the area... They must be after something."

"Should I just head back then if it's too risky?"

"Wait. One more thing. We're gonna assume that group was most, if not, all of their personal on hand. That should give a large time window to scout their campsite. Look for something important like their plans. Try not to touch anything unless you plan on taking it with you, and if you do, run back here as fast as possible!"

"Alright. I'll check it out."

Once the SACT agents were far away enough, Kyle quickly moved south. He soon came to hilly area. In the distance, he saw lights coming from behind a small chain of hills. He slowly climbed towards a summit until he could gaze down below.

The SACT campsite seemed to be abandoned. Black and grey tents bearing the organization's logo formed a semicircle. Tables and boards with charts and graphs occupied the other half. Two large armored vans guarded the dirt path leading inside.

"Anyone in there?" Kyle asked mentally.

"No. It should be safe. Just beware of possibly booby traps. I cannot detect non-living objects."

"...Is something wrong with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's just...the sound of your voice. It sounds like...there's a slight tone of concern in it. Are you actually worried about-"

"I have nothing to say."

Kyle proceeded down the hill and inside the nearest tent. It was a residential one with a pair of makeshift beds, one on each side. Private desks and chests also sat in the corners. Many kinds of weapons were attached to wooden boards on the walls, each to the respective owner's taste. The other tents seemed to be similar judging by the next three tents Kyle inspected. Assuming this to be true, he walked over to the tables and read the various papers. Nothing particularly stuck out. They all talked about monster population growth and general objectives of current assignment, but nothing in full detail. The maps, however, proved to be useful. Red marks of X's and O's were drawn all over duplicate maps of the Haunted Ridge. They were all centered around the abandoned mining camp, specifically all the mining tunnels. One particular O mark was the same location of the tunnel where the SACT agents from earlier were heading. Investigating further, Kyle found hand-drawn maps of the mine's interior. It seemed not all the tunnels fully connected to form a vast network which would possibly explain why certain mine entrances had X's on them. Kyle quickly contacted Gwen to report.

"Gwen. I found a couple maps of the area. Should I take som-"

"Kyle! We've got trouble! I just found out Len stormed off on his own a while after you left! One of the Plumbers here said he was gonna head to Haunted Ridge! You gotta find and bring him back before the SACT finds him! That shining yellow armor of his will make him a sitting duck out there!"

"Alright! I'm going to find him!"

Kyle hurriedly dashed back the way he came and ran along the dirt road. Len wasn't anywhere near the glowing meteor or mining camp. None of the arachnids seemed aggravated or provoked so physical combat had been initiated recently. By the time, Kyle reached the other end of the pit, he hadn't caught sight of Len which only meant one thing. He was somewhere in the mines.

"Just great... Can you sense him?"

"Hm... I do not sense any individual, but I can detect a distant party. I assume them to be the SACT, but if that Gwen girl says that man is here, then he is with them."

Before Kyle could head down, he was stopped by someone's voice. It was Gwen running fast as she could. She was already out of breath when she reached Kyle.

"Gwen... You shouldn't be pushing yourself like this."

"I'm...fine... You find Len yet?"

"I couldn't find him. I think he might've went inside the mines and I saw a squad of SACT go inside when I first came."

"Alright, good thing a brought along one of his belongings."

Gwen showed Kyle a golden pocketwatch she had in her pocket. Just like the previous time with the whip, she levitated it in her hands. She then dropped from exhaustion once she was finished, but Kyle managed to catch her.

"You were pushing yourself too far..." Kyle summoned his Eddy Nano restored Gwen's energy with a full Jawbreaker Break.

"Thanks." Gwen took some time to brush the dirt of her clothes before heading down the slope. "I found him. But he better hurry. He's pretty deep inside..."

* * *

><p>"Stop! You're under violation of trespassing! If you don't come quietly, we have authorization to shoot!"<p>

Len was on the run from pursuing SACT agents. He had closely followed them inside the mine tunnels, but accidentally alerted them of his presence when he knocked over an abandoned pickaxe. He unfortunately had a bad sense of direction and ended up getting lost within the tunnels. People remarked how he had always tended to never fully think things through. This was one of them.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Why did that freaking pickaxe have to be there!"

Len had already been running for about five minutes now and his pursuers weren't showing any signs of slowing down. It was only a matter of time before they caught up of if he ran into a dead end. Len had his modified rifle with him along with a few flash grenades, but they would still be ineffectual. The former couldn't possibly defend him from this many trained operatives and their sunglasses would probably render the latter useless. Len was desperately struggling at what to do.

"Right. Move right, now." a warped voiced suddenly echoed in his mind.

"What? How are you-... Who's there!"

"Don't ask questions. Make a right if you really want to live."

"...Alright, but I am _so_ gonna kill if you're lying!"

Len follow this being's instructions precisely. Whoever he was, he knew exactly what he was doing. He ordered Len to fire his rifle at specific points along the way to collapse the roof and provide obstacles for the SACT agents. With enough time, Len could no longer hear the footsteps of the SACT behind me.

"Wow. You really know your stuff." he muttered.

"I'm glad to have been of assistance." a voice said behind him.

Len turned to see a strange humanoid being standing before him. Its body seemed to be made out of greenish blue, fire-like substance, on its chest was an outlined four-sided star, and its eyes intimidatingly skinny like it was constantly squinting at someone. Judging by the size, it was comparable to a late teen or young adult.

"My name is Jinn." he introduced himself.

"Hey, aren't you a-"

"Now's not a time for explanations. Follow me if you wish to reunite with you friends."

"Wait, what are you-"

"Come."

As if attached to the ground or at least hovering over it, Jinn headed down another tunnel with Len following. Len wanted to stop him, but he was always stopped by a telepathic message from Jinn to keeping moving. When Len walked around the corner, Jinn had suddenly vanished without a trace. Up ahead, he saw Kyle and Gwen walking towards him.

"Len?" Gwen said before running towards him. "Your all right!"

"Gwen...and you... How did you-"

"Your friend ratted you out. What were you thinking! You could've gotten caught by those SACT agents!"

"Hey! I easily lost them! And it doesn't matter anyway as long as I didn't get caught, right?"

"...Let's just get out of here."

Waiting for Kyle to give a clear signal, Gwen surrounded the group in her mana and teleported themselves back to the Pimpleback Mountains. Once no one was around, Jinn appeared from another connecting tunnel and observed the spot where the trio had just been standing. He sighed with disappointment as he waved his hand over the area.

"That Anodite really needs to practice this spell. She left her mana signature all over this place. With the correct knowledge she could be easily tracked down... Then again...she is half-human. And she seems to be self-taught as well. An extremely impressive feat for beings at this level. This would be so much easier if I had assistance... Hehe...Ahahaha! This world is so amusing~!"

* * *

><p>"A trespasser? Are you sure?"<p>

"Yes. He wore yellow-colored armor. I'm sorry, but we couldn't verify specific features about him."

"Has he done anything that would hinder our objective?"

"He had injured a few of our men, but that was because of his attempts at trying to lose us."

"Can they still move?"

"Yes... Also, we just got a report that a team of three agents were ambushed during an inspection of the camp in Acorn Flats. None of them recall seeing any of their assailants and nothing seemed to be stolen."

"Shall we use our sources to find information about him?"

"No. We're pulling out tomorrow. People are getting more suspicious. We already have what we came for anyway. The same goes for the squads at Acorn Flats. You can cancel that request for the Plumbers to move out of Pimpleback Mountains, but keep an eye on them though. Right now, they're under suspicion for sabotage..."

* * *

><p>Gwen lied on her bed recovering from her vast mana usage in one day. Kyle was the only one with her, standing by the window. Len had already left after Gwen had finished berating him. Apparently, he didn't want Kyle to be the only one with all the glory and decided to investigate the SACT only thing he didn't reveal and kept a secret was his encounter with Jinn.<p>

"He really is a handful..." Kyle remarked.

"It's not his fault. After what he's gone through..."

"We still don't know what the SACT were doing inside the tunnels. Should I go back?"

"Too risky even for you now. They'll be much more alert. We're just gonna have to lay low for a while... Thanks for all the help. We couldn't have done it without you."

"Thanks. I guess I'll head back to Townsville now."

"Oh, wait."

"Hm?"

"If you happen to see Ben, tell him that things are taking longer than I thought. He'll know what it means."

"Right. Got it. Get better soon."

* * *

><p>"Aw, man! Nobody told me the stadium got turned into an Infected Zone! How are we supposed to perform now!"<p>

"Calm down. It's not a total loss. We still have the Townsville gig."

"Yeah, but this place is practically legendary around here. Now we can't play."

"Who said anything about not playing~? This place is still completely open!"


	44. Kaznapped

**Chapter 44 - Kaznapped**

Author Notes:

- this chapter is basically just filler until the next Fusion fight, but there are CN character debuts and the climax of a sub-plot that I completely ignored for "I-don't-know-how-many" chapters

- I never knew what gangrene actually was until I looked it up while writing this... Oh my God, it's disgusting...

- the next chapter of my other story, Adventure Time: New World, will explain why a certain four characters in this chapter appeared out of nowhere

- Oh, and just because the lyrics I used refers to Japan as a country does not mean it exists in this universe. It's just supposed to be a fun little reference to the show's theme

* * *

><p>Kyle laid in his bed back in Townsville, staring out the window. It was already afternoon, getting closer to evening, and he hadn't even left the building. He had finished reporting back to Max about what happened in the Pimpleback Mountains yesterday morning. Max promised to help keep Kyle's name away from suspicion and told the boy to avoid being around them for now. Kyle was doing just that, staying in a place SACT agents probably would never go, but boredom inevitably overcame him. He desired something to do, anything as long as it wasn't stupid.<p>

"Guess I'll stay home again..." he mumbled to himself. "Hm?"

Kyle heard his front door open. He must've forgotten to lock it, but that was never a priority in his life. Investigating, he found Kenny eagerly waiting for him.

"What do you want?"

"C'mon!" Kenny exclaimed as he held up yellow tickets in his hand. "You promised we'd go to that music concert in Marquee today!"

"They're still having it?...With an alien invasion happening?"

"You went shopping at a crowded mall a few days ago..."

"...Point taken, but when did I ever-? You know what? Let's just go. I'll meet you outside. I just need to grab my things."

"Alright! Meet you at the Slider!"

Kenny hurriedly ran out as Kyle went back to his room. He questioned why he decided to bring his weapons, but not bringing them along simply felt strange now to him. It amused yet disturbed him that he became accustomed to it. He joked to himself that he'd eventually become overly paranoid if this war kept going much longer.

Now ready, Kyle hurried outside. He walked down the sidewalk until he came to a large elevator that lead up to a large floating platform that loomed over the area like an overhead bridge. At the top, he met up with Kenny who was still waiting for the next bus to come around. Kyle observed a majority of the station as empty. The only other people there were guards, employees, and a few other people waiting for the next bus.

"So why did you come?" Kenny asked as he sat down on a wooden bench.

"What do you mean?"

"I was joking when I said that you promised to come. I just made it up. What made you tag along? I'd never thought you'd say yes."

"I guess...I just wanted to. No real reason... Pretty boring laying around the house all day."

"Hehe... Weird. Up until you came back from that giant battle in Endsville, I thought all you wanted was to be alone. Never left the building unless you had to..."

"Well...I guess you can say that I've changed...a lot."

"Tell me about it... Oh look, the bus is here!"

The open-air, cage-like car stopped directly in front of the two. Everyone waiting at the station immediately boarded when the energy railings disperse. Once given clearance, they were soon southbound and eventually came over the outskirts the city.

"Haven't been to Marquee in a while." Kyle mentioned as he stared at the hovercars passing below them. "Is it still the se way I remember it?"

"Pretty much. Sunny Bridges Auditorium got turned into an Infected Zone though."

"Uh, isn't that where they're holding the concert?"

"Yeah, but it's perfectly safe. There's practically armies of guards keeping an eye on the terrafusers. They've practically got every inch of that place under surveillance. Besides, the 'decayed by fusion matter' look makes a cool appearance."

"I see... Every band still coming?"

"Some chickened out. Puffy AmiYumi's still playing, I know that. Oh! And this new band that became an overnight sensation is taking over one of the newly-opened time slots."

"Who?"

"I forget their names. I'm not into their kind of music. One of the members is Ace though. I guess the rest of his group is the band."

Ace was the leader of the Gangreen Gang, a group of five green-skinned hoodlums who occasional caused trouble in Townsville only to be put down by the Powerpuff Girls. Nobody knew if they human or not. Some assumed they were a unfortunate group of people who suffered from gangrene and lived at the cost having their skinned permanently turn into a light green color. Even when asked under pressure, the gang stubbornly refuses to comment.

"He's apparently got a girlfriend now." Kenny revealed. "She's their lead singer."

"You serious? Is she human?"

"Yeah. She's got all this punk clothing and makeup to match. But y'know...? She looks familiar, but I don't remember where I've seen her though."

"Maybe I can help."

"Sure. Just don't spoil the fun while we're there."

* * *

><p>"Ahem... Mic check. One, two, three... Hello? ... Hello? ... Man! The stupid mic's broken!"<p>

A blue-haired girl dressed in a gothic, heavy metal style was performing a microphone test at the stage inside Sunny Bridges Auditorium. She wore a skull-faced shirt, biker shorts, black miniskirt, and black boots. She also wore studded accessories around her neck and wrists.

"Who's idea was it to hold a concert in an Infected Zone, anyway? Couldn't we have at least moved outside to the large open field?"

"Calm down, Yumi." another girl replied.

This one was the opposite of Yumi in appearance. She wore a colorful mix of yellow, pink, and white go-go-style attire consisting of a dress, belt, and boots. She also wore a yellow flower beside the right bun of her hair.

"I'm just as worried as you are, but Kaz and plenty of others said that it's safe. And you have to admit, it is kinda cool-looking though not really matching my style right now. But it'd be perfect for your solo!"

"Hm... You're right, Ami. But we're still short a mic."

"We can use our own. We haven't used them in a while. Plus I caught Kaz about to throw them out."

"Wow. We really have not used them in a while..."

"I'll go get them! Be right back!"

Ami left her drum set, leaving Yumi to finish setting it up, and hurried off backstage. Opening the back door, Ami descended the staircase and opened an iron gate where her tour bus was parked on the side of the road. She opened the door to find her manager, Kaz, asleep in their lounge. He was a short , old man with glasses and a money-grubbing problem, but Ami and Yumi still loved having as their manager anyway. Not wishing to wake him, Ami tiptoed into into her bedroom. She opened her closet, picked up a sealed cardboard box, and sneaked back outside.

"Wow, Kaz is really out of it today if he's sleeping in Jengo and Teki's bed..."

"So you're part of the famous Puffy AmiYumi?" someone asked her outside.

Ami looked up to see Ace and the rest of the Gangreen Gang menacingly standing in front of her. They were all dressed in black versions of their normal outfits with some modifications to match their overall theme. The only one who was vastly different from his original outfit was Ace himself who now wore a black leather jacket, white t-shirt, and blue jeans. He still kept his trademark shades.

"Oh, hello." Ami kindly greeted them. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah. We're the Gangreen Gang. We're performing tonight along with you guys."

"Oh! You guys! Let me tell ya! Yumi simply fell in love with your music the moment she heard it! She was pretty excited to possibly meet Belldonna in person! Hey. Where is Belladonna?"

"My girl? She went on inside ahead of us. You on the other hand..."

"Oh right! What did you want to talk abou-?"

"Arturo."

Ami hadn't noticed Little Arturo, the midget-sized one of the group, sneak up behind her and strike with enough force to render her unconscious. Snake and Grubber then proceeded to drag her body inside the tour bus as Big Billy carried the dropped box.

"Hey, Ace." Snake called out from inside. "There's an old guy sleeping on the couch. Should we wake him up?"

Ace stuck his head through the door to get a better look at Kaz. "He looks pretty out of it. Just keep an eye on him."

Ace returned outside with Big Billy and Grubber. They waited by the tour bus for Belladonna to return. After a few minutes, the auditorium back door swung open as a teenage female with a wild haircut stepped outside carrying an unconscious Yumi over her shoulder. She dressed in a black leather jacket like Ace and torn stocking and green skirt. Part of her hair also had a small green streak dyed into it.

"What took ya so long?" Ace asked.

"Ugh. This girl just wouldn't stop pestering me with questions! I eventually just gave up waiting and just knocked her out mid-sentence."

"Nobody saw you, right?"

"Nope. I was just us two."

"Alright. Toss her inside. Snake! You drive this thing a far away as you can. Arturo! You go along and make sure these guys don't escape."

Snake gave a salute as he started the bus' engine. Ace and the remaining members watched as the bus disappeared above the northern horizon.

"Well that takes care of the threatening competition!"

* * *

><p>"You did what?"<p>

Kenny and Kyle were riding the Slider towards Marquee. They were still hovering over the busy road that connected the two cities of Townsville and Marquee. Kyle was sitting by one of the arch-like parts of the bus, mindlessly watching the passing hovercars and other vehicles while Kenny excitedly asked him numerous questions about Kyle's recent outings. Kyle was explaining part of time in the Pimpleback Mountains, the Haunted Ridge, and Acorn Flats.

"It's no big deal." Kyle told him.

"Yeah, but those SACT guys are like highly trained and stuff."

"I had helped from Nanos too so that's why."

"Oh yeah. How many do you have now?"

"Uh...seventeen?"

"Sweet! One more and you'll be halfway to getting all of them!"

"Since when have you gotten so knowledgeable about this stuff?"

"Nanos just seemed interesting to me." he admitted. It seemed he was a little embarrassed to reveal this fact. "I'm guessing you've already killed plenty of Fusions if you have that many already. I'm impressed!"

"Yeah...whatever... Hm? Is that-"

"What's the matter?"

Kyle pointed at road a few meters ahead of them. Something had caught his eye. "Isn't that the Puffy AmiYumi tour bus?"

Kenny couldn't see as far as Kyle, but he definitely recognized the bus' colors. "Where're they heading? Marquee's the other way..."

"Wait. That's-." Kyle managed to catch a glimpse of Snake through the windshield. "Snake's driving that bus!"

"What! I thought they were-! Do you think they kidnapped the band?"

"I'd follow them, but I wouldn't be able to keep up and see where they were going."

"I'll call the police."

Kyle looked back and watched as the bus progressively faded from view. He wondered if he should just jump overboard and give chase, but he didn't want to leave Kenny or cause panic from using his powers so he decided to wait for the time being.

"Yeah... Yeah... Okay... Thanks... Goodbye."

"What did they say?" Kyle asked.

"They said they'll pay attention the security drone cameras, but their not gonna dispatched any cars. They probably think we're pulling a practical joke or something since we're still teenagers..."

"...How big is this thing?"

"The what?"

"The concert. If it's that popular, tons of people from all over should be coming, right?"

"You think someone there would be able to help us?"

"If they show up..."

* * *

><p>"Oh thank you, Professor!"<p>

Bubbles was gleefully jumping for joy upon arriving at entrance of Sunny Bridges Auditorium. She was already tightly hugging her father while repeatedly screaming "Thank you!" over and over again. The Professor could only laugh as he tried to calm her down and avoid too much attention.

"Anything for my little girl." he replied with a smile. He then looked at his watch. It was still a little more than an hour until the concert would begin. "Why don't you and you sister have some fun in the mall for now? I'll save us our seats."

"Okay!"

Bubbles skipped off towards the entrance of the nearby mall which was receiving an influx of visitors with last-minute preparations on their mind. Blossom was about follow but was stopped by the Professor.

"Should we tell her now?" he asked. The look on his face was that of deep concern. He had been trying his best to hide it from Bubbles.

"She's gonna find out sooner or later... But...she's been looking forward to this day for a long time. I don't want her to spend the day constantly thinking about her. And I don't want to ruin _her_ life right now."

"Still. We can't keep lying to her. It'll only hurt he more."

"It doesn't matter. The charade ends tonight."

"What do you mean?"

"_Her_ band's performing tonight."

"I see. Well, you better run along now. The line's getting pretty long."

Blossom waved goodbye to the Professor as she looked up at the auditorium. Its design had a small aquatic theme to it. The building's eastern and western walls were enormous versions of half a pink clam shells pointed upward. Obviously due to being an Infected Zone, musical instruments and large tiles meant to show sheet music hovered around the arena. Resting atop the shell behind the stage was a colossal terrafuser, one of the biggest recorded ones in the area. Dexter had worked hard to synthesize a chemical solution that greatly hindered its production of Fusion Monsters. For this particular night, he managed to create an extremely powerful version to temporarily ceased its production.

"I wonder how she's doing..."

"He-Hey! Blossom! Glad to see ya here!"

Blossom turned to see Ben approaching her with a friendly smile. He held a Mr. Smoothie in each hand, the one he was drinking already half-finished.

"Oh. Hey, Ben. What's up? Things finally quiet down over in Nebula?"

"I wish. I have to head back after this thing's over."

"You're here by yourself?"

"Nah. I'm on a date with Julie. Maybe double date if Kevin shows with Gwen, but I don't think that'll happen. I heard she ran into some trouble in the Pimpleback Mountains. I hope she's okay."

"Don't worry. I'm sure she's fine."

"So. Who're you going with?" he teased. "Anyone special? Dex, Rex, anyone~?"

"W-What! I'm just here with Bubbles and the Professor!" she exclaimed blushing.

"Alright. I get it. Hm... y'know. I don't think Kyle has a date!"

"Wh-Why are you bringing him up?"

"Julie and I saw him talking with a friend of his, I guess, while we were driving down the road. They were riding the Slider. They should be here pretty soon. You should take Bubbles along and ask them!"

"...Since when did you become Mr. Match-Maker?"

Ben began laughing. "Haha! Can you really blame me? Just offering a good friend some suggestions. That's all~. Anyway, I'll see you later."

Ben quickly ran off to meet up with an impatient Julie, his girlfriend with short black hair and yellow skin. She dressed in a black t-shirt under a pink sweatshirt and a white miniskirt. Blossom overheard Ben receiving a scolding or two from Julie, one them definitely being Ben drinking her Mr. Smoothie instead of his, but they were soon heading inside the auditorium.

"Well, I haven't seen him in a while." Blossom said to herself, remembering Ben's suggestion. "...But I am _so_ not asking him on a date!"

Keeping her profile low by avoiding to use her superpowers, Blossom hurriedly walked towards the Slider Station and ascended the staircase. She came just in time as she reach the final few stairs. The announcement for the next arriving bus just came on. In the few seconds, the bus came into the station. Just then, Blossom noticed two boys quickly exit onto the platform by hopping over the railing before the bus even came to halt. One of them she recognized as Kyle who immediately stopped in his tracks once he noticed her.

"Blossom!"

"Hey, what's the big hur-?"

"We have to move!" Kenny exclaimed. "The Gangreen Gang's up to trouble again!"

"What! But they-!"

"We'll explain on the way!" Kyle interrupted as he grabbed her hand and pulled her along.

The three started out by running down the sidewalk as Kyle and Kenny explained what was going on. Once Blossom understood, she told the two to grab her hands as they took off into the sky. Kenny began panicking a little since he felt unsafe being his first time flying like this, but Blossom assured she wouldn't drop him. They were soon flying over the busy roadway.

"Where did you guys see it?"

"Right around here," Kyle replied, "but they should be back in Townsville by now."

"Must've taken them to their hideout."

"They don't have that place booby trapped, do they?" Kenny worriedly asked.

"Probably not, but I'll take care of it."

The three headed towards the junkyard near the outskirts of Townsville. As they got closer, Blossom noticed fresh tracks along the road towards it. She hastened her flight until finally landing in front of the entrance gates. Blossom left the boys behind as she went ahead to scout for traps. Kenny and Kyle carefully proceeded through the junkyard, listening for Blossom to warn them of possible dangers. Luckily, the Gangreen Gang had left this place mostly untouched so the three easily converged upon the hideout.

Kenny peered inside the window to see Snake and Little Arturo watching their old television. The band was nowhere to be found so they assumed that they hid the bus somewhere.

"Are you sure we should be here?" Arturo asked. "Ace said to keep going."

"Relaxxx!" Snake replied. "It's not like they'll make it back in time if they wake up now."

"Yeah. I guess you're right..."

"Too bad you didn't think about me!" Blossom exclaimed as she burst through the room, having heard enough to see them as guilty. "Where's Puffy AmiYumi!"

"Oh man! Let's get outta here!"

Snake and Little Arturo make a break for the door. Their escape was halted once they opened the door and were then knocked back by Kyle's Nanos. Kyle then ordered those that had the Snare ability to restrain the two.

"Now where's the bus?" Blossom asked Little Arturo, holding him by the collar.

"Uh...uh... In the old garage!"

"Good. I'll let you guys off the hook this time for now since we don't have much time left."

"How did you find out?" Snake asked.

"You don't need to know. And Kyle, keep an eye on 'em."

Kenny followed Blossom as flew towards the nearby garage, leaving Kyle alone.

"So why'd you do it?" Kyle asked them.

"...It wasn't our idea." Arturo admitted. "The concert's a contest too. It's gonna be judged based on applause. Ace wanted to make sure his band won so his girlfriend could win the prize money."

"Pretty cheesssy if you ask me." Snake remarked.

"Kyle!" Kenny exclaimed from outside. "You can come over here now!"

Kyle left without a word and released the two from his Nanos' grip. He met up with the other in front of the garage. It seemed Blossom was forced to tear off the garage door since they key was missing. Ami and Yumi were now awake and also with them. They explained that they had woken up a while ago, but the door was locked so they couldn't fully escape their captivity.

"Is there anyone else with you?" Blossom asked.

"Just our manager, Kaz." Yumi replied. "Still asleep though. Can't wake him up!"

"But at least nobody's seriously hurt, right?"

"My stomach hurts from that girl punching me, but I think we can manage. Let's just get back to the auditorium and kick those losers' butts!"

"But we won't be able to with all the traffic!" Ami pointed out. "There's not enough time left!"

"Not a problem!" Blossom told her. "Everybody hop in the bus and I'll fly it over to Marquee!"

Kyle and Kenny followed the pop duo inside their tour bus. Once inside, Blossom carefully lifted the vehicle until she had a balanced and steady grip on it.

"Ready in there?"

"Go for it!"

With that, Blossom took to the skies. Ami and Yumi sat by windows and gazed at the view. Never did any of them think that they would see the day their bus would fly in the sky, not due to an explosion or wild misadventure of course.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Ami exclaimed. She approached Kyle and began shaking his hand. "Thank you so much!"

"For what?"

"Blossom told us that you were the one who noticed that man driving our bus. We owe you one!"

"It's... It's no big deal really."

"C'mon!" Yumi urged him. "Don't 'cha a least want something?"

Kyle thought for a moment before awkwardly twiddling his fingers. "Well... I do remember always wanting a guitar when I was little but...I kinda...sucked at it..."

"Piled up complaints throughout the entire floor~!" Kenny added.

"I told you to shut up about it!"

"Alright, guitar lessons it is then!" Yumi decided. "Meet up with us tomorrow morning and we'll get settled!"

"Hey, guys!" Blossom exclaimed. "We're almost there!"

"And just in time too!" Ami said as she read her wristwatch.

Blossom lowered the bus back to its original location. Ami and Yumi quickly got themselves ready, which was really just dusting off their clothes and strapping on their guitars, and soon rushed towards the backdoor. The security guard quickly recognized the duo and granted them access, but he was hesitant on the other three. After some begging from the singers, the guard finally gave in but told them not mention a word of this. Inside, they could already hear the announcer finish up his big speech and explaining about the competition. The group was rushing towards the stage door right as the band's introduction came.

"Going somewhere?"

Blocking the way was Ace, Belladonna, and Grubber. Blossom had expected them to be at least surprised in some way that Ami and Yumi were rescued, but they still had mischievous smiles on their faces.

"How did you know we'd be here?" Blossom asked.

"Snake and Arturo called us about what happened. Did we forget to tell ya that got a new telephone? Pretty old, but still works wonders! Hehehe..."

"And what's stopping us from forcing our way through?"

"That's easy." Belladonna replied as she calmly walked towards her. The girl smiled and immediately punched Blossom in the face. Normally, this shouldn't have harmed her too much, but Belladonna was able to send her flying down the hallway and crashing into the wall. "Pretty neat, huh? Just found out how to do it!"

"You don't think the guards will come after when the find out what you just did?" Kenny exclaimed.

"Too late. Grubber knocked out all the ones inside and locked them in a closet somewhere. They shouldn't be waking up until we're long gone."

Kyle and the rest of the group began to slowly back away. None of them could deal with a superpowered girl besides Kyle, but he wouldn't be able to have a chance at defeating her without attracting attention and possible misunderstandings.

"Now, now." Ace said, trying to calm the tension. "Just stay here until they announce that you're disqualified for not showing up and calls us next."

"And now for the opening act!" the announcer exclaimed. "Puffy Ami Yumi!"

Everyone in the hallway could hear the crowds cheering for the opening performance.

"Watch it slowly die down and..."

The cheering did come to a stop, but then one of the band's hit songs began to start up.

_Nori!_  
><em> It all started when we first met<em>  
><em> and strapped on our guitars<em>!  
><em> We made music so great and good<em>  
><em> that soon we were rock stars<em>!  
><em> The biggest in Japan<em>  
><em> (Sonna koto nai!)<em>  
><em> with tons of screaming fans<em>.  
><em> (Ano ogiri.)<em>  
><em> We're out on tour around the world<em>  
><em> so come and join the band!<em>  
><em> (Eins, zwei, drei!)<em>  
><em> Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi Show!<br>_ Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi Show!__

Ace was stood motionless and wide-eyed for a few seconds before snapping back to reality. "Wait, what! Billy!"

Billy, the large, round, and red-headed one of the gang poked his head through the door. "Yeah, boss?"

"We have the band here, right?"

"Duh...yeah."

"Then who's singing out there?"

"Oh, some pretty older girls with long hair."

"What! How the- Bella! Find a way to crash their performance!"

"I'm on i-Augh!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Blossom exclaimed as she kicked her aside. She then looked back at the others. "You guys go! I'll take it from here!"

Kenny and the girls ran for the stage door, but were blocked by Ace and Big Billy. Kyle drew his rifle and demanded that they back off to which they quickly obliged. He stayed behind as well and told the others to go on ahead to make sure the two didn't follow. As the three dashed through the doorway, they came face to face with Grim who had been peeking through the curtain. Since they had never met him before, they all reacted with panicked screams. The girls' screams were even louder since the situation made it look like Grim had intended to collect their souls after a fatal accident during the performance.

"Calm down!" he exclaimed. "I'm not here to reap you!"

"T-then...what are you here for?"

"It's a really long story, but two friends of mine got mistaken for you two and were dragged onstage by some idiot employees. We managed to kill de track and replace it wit a full version of it, but I don't know how much longer dey can keep up de lip-sync!"

"Did anyone notice yet?" Yumi asked now calmed down.

"De audience just tinks you're trying on costumes, but dose in da front row will notice sooner or later!"

"Where's your friend controlling the music?"

"Dis way!"

Grim lead the groups to the side of the stage where a tall blonde-haired man with a muscular build was trying to figure out the console controls. He dressed in a black t-shirt, blue jeans, and dark sunglasses. The man was about push a button, but Yumi quickly stopped him.

"I'll take it from here, big guy."

Yumi activated the smoke machines and made it harder for the audience to clearly see the two girls onstage. Assuming this was part of the act, the audience just continued cheering without suspicion. Yumi then set up the explosion for a large smoke cloud.

"Alright," she told the blonde man, "push this button when I give the signal. Got it?"

"Roger that."

Ami and Yumi stood at opposite ends of the stage so they could easily pull the other two girls aside. They seemed strange if they were human, but Ami and Yumi assumed they were wearing special make up or costumes.

The first one was a girl with long pink hair and dressed in tomboy-like clothing. She seemed to be struggling to fake playing the guitar convincingly, but the smoke made things somewhat easier for her. The other one clearly had more experience with a guitar; the only problem she had was matching the song's notes and chords, forcing her to improvise. She also had long hair, but it was black. She wore a red tank-top and black jeans, and brown boots. Yumi also noticed a band-aid on her neck.

Yumi signaled the blonde man as the song reached its close. Smoke shrouded the entire stage as Ami and Yumi quickly pulled the girls behind the curtain and took their place. By the time it cleared, the duo were already bowing towards the audience who burst into applause.

"Can't believe we pulled that off." Yumi remarked.

"Yeah. Too bad we couldn't really sing though."

"Don't worry. They'll be demanding an encore for the closing act!" she said confidently.

"I'm just glad nobody realized what happened. That would've been-."

Ami was suddenly interrupted when she heard the wall behind her fall apart. Blossom came flying through the curtain, pulling it along with her, and crashed into Ami. The curtain came off its support and revealed Grim and his friends awkwardly standing there, unsure of what to do under full view of the spotlights.

"How do ya like that!" Belladonna exclaimed.

Those nearby could see her coming through the hole she kicked Blossom through. Kyle and Kenny came from behind and attempted piling on top of her for restraint, but she easily grabbed and tossed them in front of her.

"Calm down, Bella!" Ace exclaimed from the other side. He and Big Billy had been been retrained by one of Kyle's Nanos. "You're gonna get us into more trouble!"

"Are you two okay?" Yumi asked as she pulled the curtain away from Ami and Blossom.

"I'm fine." Blossom replied. "Sorry about all this. I had to hold back."

"Why? She kidnapped us and is trying to kill you!"

"You don't understand. She's..."

"I finally found you!" the black-haired girl exclaimed.

Grim's friend immediately tackled Belladonna to the ground. It seemed she had more strength than an average human as she was able to put up a decent struggle. She kept on repeatedly demanding Belladonna to return her stolen item while hissing at her. The fight continued for almost half a minute. Looks of confusion were being exchanged everywhere. Even security guards were unsure of what to do as they awkwardly stared at the wrecked stage.

"Stooooop!" a ear-shattering voice exclaimed.

Bubbles had appeared on the stage along with the Professor. The entire auditorium went silent after her screaming, everything coming to a complete halt. She then began walking towards Belladonna who stared at Bubbles' surprisingly emotionless face. Grim and his friends quickly pulled their other companion back as Bubbles bent over towards Belladonna. Bubbles offered her hand and helped the girl to her feet.

"What are you-?"

Bubbles showed Belladonna a green ranunculus and placed it in her hand. Belladonna stared at it for a few seconds before realizing what it was.

"Is this-?"

"The same one I gave you all those years ago... I've kept it all this time."

Belladonna gazed at her surroundings once more. She broke down before Bubbles' knees and began to cry.

"My God... What have I done?"

Bubbles then placed her hand on the girl's head and smiled. "It's alright...Buttercup."


	45. Crossing Paths

**Chapter 45 - Crossing Paths  
><strong>

**Author Notes:**

- Ben's a yuri fan?

- long dialogue-centric chapter this time. The next Fusion battle will be Chapter 47

- I felt I put too many awkward wordings so...sorry about that

* * *

><p>Kyle and Kenny sat on their respective beds in a hotel room, wondering what they would do next. After the previous night's incident and confusion that inevitably got the authorities involved, the two boys were forced to stay behind and provide their stories. Ami and Yumi were at least kind enough to help pay for a room in a high-class hotel nearby though not with Kaz's approval. Unfortunately for him, Yumi had snapped an embarrassing photo of him while he was out cold and used it for blackmail.<p>

The Powerpuff Girls and the Professor were right next door, having used the girls' reputation for an extremely large discount. They didn't want to move Belladonna, or now Buttercup, so fast after what she just went through. Blossom or Bubbles dropped by the boys' room every once in a while to provide information about Buttercup's recovery.

"What exactly happened to her?" Kenny asked Blossom.

"A little bit before Fuse's invasion, we were fighting Mojo Jojo and one of his giant robots. Bubbles and I got too distracted to noticed an incoming missile coming right towards us. Buttercup saw it and pushed us out of the way, taking the explosion head on. It was too powerful for her and she got sent flying into the ocean. We tried going after her, but Mojo got in the way. It took us a while too since those missiles packed quite a punch. After destroying his robot, we looked through every place Buttercup could've drifted off to, but... we didn't find her."

"So that letter..." Kyle muttered.

"That's why I was...emotional when Kyle gave me that letter. After he helped me with that Fusion problem in Pokey Oaks, I headed to Marquee as fast as I could. I followed Ace and his gang around until I saw Belladonna more closely. I knew she was Buttercup the moment I saw her."

"Why didn't you just tell others about this?" Kenny asked.

"I was going to...but then I looked back at Buttercup. She looked so happy to be with Ace and when I thought about it, I didn't want to ruin that. What kind of sister would I be? And the Gangreen Gang had been on a clean slate so far so I thought there wouldn't any harm in keeping a secret."

"But then the Professor found out when I mentioned Buttercup during that day in Genius Grove." Kyle added.

"Yeah. My mind was so caught up on Buttercup that I forgot you, Numbuh 2, and a few others knew about her being alive... Sorry about all this..."

"N-No! It's not your fault!" Kenny insisted. "You did what you thought was right! That's what really matters."

She smiled. "Hehe. Thanks."

A knock then came from the door. Being the closest and just about to leave, Blossom was the one to answer it. The door opened to reveal Grim and his black-haired friend, Marceline. Ami and Yumi had also managed to pay for their rooms down the hall although Grim could've easily just shown himself to scare them into a free room offering. Grim had previously introduced his friends the night before. The blonde man was named Johnny from the city of Bravo while the pink-haired one was simply referred to as Bonnibel or by the nickname, "Bonnie". He had met them while 'on vacation' in Orchid Bay City.

"Oh, hello." Blossom greeted. "You wanted to see the boys?"

"No." Marceline replied. "I just wanted to say thanks and that...I'm sorry."

"About what?"

"For attacking your sister and all. I didn't know she was suffering from amnesia. I kinda felt bad since I sorta know how it feels like to lose memories..."

"It's no big deal, really." she said with a smile. "If anyone's to blame, you should blame me. But, uh... what was it you wanted to thank me for?"

"Well, not really you, but for your sister. I found out she somehow got my lost axe which is one of the things I've been searching for. It was why I tackled her. I guess that I just got angry that someone was using it without my permission and went berserk..."

"I understand. I'll let Buttercup know when she wakes up so we'll avoid misunderstandings. But to tell you the truth, she would've gladly given it back ha she been her normal self. Is that all?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

"Oh, Kyle!" Grim said loud enough to get his attention. "HIM still hasn't come after you yet, right?"

"No, not yet." he replied. "Why? Did he find any leads?"

"W-Wait!" Marceline interrupted. "You guys are talking about HIM...casually!"

"Well, yeah." Kenny answered. "Us kids in Townsville have to deal with HIM as supervillain of the week though that died down with this alien invasion."

"But he's-...y'know!"

"Maybe it's because I've lived with it all my life, but there's really no need to worry. He never does anything permanent with the Girls around."

"Yeah. Buttercup usually does the finishing blow when Bubbles and I wear him down." Blossom added.

Marceline was having trouble digesting this information in her brain. She had grown up under the teaching that HIM was the most evil being ever created, eviler than her own father! If she asked any more questions, it'd just make her look even more like an outsider.

"I see..."

"Anyway..." Grim continued. "Kyle, I tink HIM is slowing down on yer case so dat..."little gift" I gave you will be lastin longa."

"It better be sooner..." Kyle remarked.

"...Well, it was nice meeting you all." Marceline said, trying to break the tension. "Bonnie and Johnny also say thanks for everything."

"Nice meeting you too." Kenny replied.

"I guess I'll just-Oh!" Marceline had turned and accidentally bumped into Ben who had just arrived a few seconds earlier. "H-Hi..."

"Oh, you're that girl who tackled Buttercup onstage!" Ben realized. "Let me tell ya! That was kinda sweet!"

"Uh...thanks?"

"Anyway, am I interrupting?"

"N-No. I was just leaving." Marceline moved aside to let Ben inside. She would've left right now, but curiosity got the better of her. "_How many more people are gonna show up?_"

"So I hear Buttercup's doing better." Ben announced.

"I thought you were heading back to Nebula?" Blossom questioned.

"Eh, I bought time. Nothing bad's been relayed to me yet so Kevin won't give me a total beating. Hehe! Anyway, Kyle, I just got finished talking to Gwen. Apparently, you two've met already."

"Yeah." Kyle responded. "Why? Did something happen?"

"Well, she might need some help over there. She said there's some insane weird dude named Ice King locked in one of their cells. She's afraid he might break out and they don't have enough men to keep him in check. Grandpa Max also called and said this could be a 'returning the favor' to him, whatever that means."

"Wait!" Marceline interrupted. "You said 'Ice King'?"

"Yeah. You know him?"

"He's one of the people I'm trying to find...though really the last person I wanted to find... Did this Gwen person mention anyone else?"

"Um... Yeah. I think so. What was his name...? Ugh, can't remember. Sorry. But I'm pretty sure there was another person with him. He's probably your guy."

"Where is she then?"

"Pimpleback Mountains. To the far northeast of here. It'll take a while if you're going by car, especially with Fusion monster possibly creating detours, and at around two-thirds of the way, you'll have to start hiking through the forest to reach it."

"Aw man..."

"Hey. I never said you had to. Just tag along with Kyle since he's going. That cool with you, man?"

"Oh, uh... Yeah." Kyle awkwardly agreed. "It's no problem. I'll show you the way."

"Gee...um...thanks." Marceline replied. "Um, if you don't mind, I'll meet up with you later. I still need to tell the others about this."

"Just meet us by the auditorium entrance." Ben told her. "It'll be easy to find from here."

Marceline nodded. She left for her room down the hallway with Grim following her.

"Assuming no more unexpected guests are coming," Blossom said, "I'll see you guys later."

Blossom left the room, shutting the door behind her. Now it was just the three boys.

"So..." Ben started as he casually sat down in a chair. "Who's your friend?"

"Kenny. He's my neighbor."

"Nice to meet ya, Kenny. Y'know, I'm kinda surprised you aren't asking the famous Ben Tennyson all sorts of questions."

"Believe me." Kyle told him. "Kenny's not the type to show his emotions and excitement around people he's not personally familiar with."

"Shut up!" Kenny shouted in embarrassment.

"Haha! It's alright, man." Ben told him. "I'm just used to being asked for autographs now. Anyway, I just needed to get some away time from work. Kicking Fusion butt sure takes a toll on ya when you're doing it twenty-four seven... So what've you guys been doing recently?"

"Nothing." Kenny calmly replied.

"Kyle?"

"Just helping out your grandpa and Gwen."

"Oh, yeah. What were you and Gwen doing?"

"We were... I probably shouldn't talk about it. Though I've probably jinxed it by now..."

"It's fine if you don't wanna talk about it. But this 'Ice King' thing... Did you know about it?"

"Not a clue. Must've happened when I left. Wonder what he did to make Gwen lock him up in a cell like that."

"Must be pretty aggressive and dangerous if Gwen couldn't talk him into calming down..."

"...Shouldn't we be heading to the auditorium now?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah... But what about...?"

"I can make it back to Townsville on my own." Kenny told him. "Good luck, you guys. I'll give Puffy AmiYumi your thanks."

Kyle followed Ben outside the hotel. They walked down a number of sidewalks, eventually coming to the entrance plaza of the auditorium. It was mostly deserted now aside from the small groups of teens who made this place their little hangout. Adjacent to the plaza and across from the auditorium was a large green field. The previous night, it had been cleared out for the public, but now people were starting to reoccupy it. They were mainly KND and Plumber agents so Kyle felt a little relieved he didn't have to deal with the SACT. He and Ben sat on a nearby bench, waiting for Marceline and her friends to show up.

"They look weird to you?" Ben suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?"

"That girl and her other pink-haired friend. Don't think I've ever seen people like them before. The dark one has really pale skin and I could swear that that other girl smelled...odd."

"Why were you smelling her?" he asked suspiciously.

"Oh, C'mon! Not like that! Julie and I were passing them when we were going inside the auditorium. She really smelled like...bubblegum..."

"Could be just one of those weird styles that just comes and goes."

"I guess you're right, but they still seemed off..."

"Well, why don't you ask them? Here they come."

Kyle pointed forward where Marceline and Bonnibel were approaching, the former under a black umbrella in broad daylight. The latter quickly approached and kindly shook their hands in a polite manner. It caught the two off guard considering her clothing was hinting a tomboy behavior.

"Hello! My name is Bonnibel! It's a pleasure to meet you...y'know, without getting involved in an embarrassing situation like yesterday. Hehe..."

"Nice to meet you too." Ben replied. "Say, weren't there two others with you?"

"We had to bid them farewell as they could not come along with us. Though technically, Grim was just catching a lift to this city, but Johnny seemed pretty upset."

"He didn't seem that sad to me." Marceline remarked. "Just a little bummed, but he took it well."

"I just hope he makes it back home safely."

"Yeah, sure. I'm just happy I finally got my axe back!"

Marceline held up her axe which she had strapped to her back. It was blood red in color and its shape was that of an actual battleaxe. Buttercup, while still under the influence of thinking she was Belladonna, had stolen it from an Imaginary Friend whom Kyle assumed to be Bloo judging by the description of him. Apparently, it was a prized family heirloom that Marceline was determined to reacquire.

"Anyway," Bonnibel continued as she looked back towards Ben. "How are we going to reach these Pimpleback Mountains?"

"You're taking a SCAMPER." he said enthusiastically.

"SCAM-PER?"

"Uh, aircraft. Kids Next Door stuff. You'd at least know about the KND, right?"

Bonnibel only tilted her head in confusion. Marceline too shared the same look. Ben went on to explain the Kids Next Door and their 2x4 technology to the girls. It struck the boys as odd. Almost anyone would've had to heard about the Kids Next Door sometime early in their lives.

"Where exactly are you girls from?" Ben asked suspiciously.

They struggled to find an answer, only looking at each other hoping one would have an answer. "We're...uh..."

"You better stop him." Riyos told Kyle. "That pale one is a vampire. I believe it would be best to keep that information a secret if we don't want to risk a massive hunt."

"W-Wait, Ben!" Kyle interrupted. "Um... They probably just don't want to people finding out. It could be...embarrassing?"

"...I guess I can buy that. Anyway, just say that you're with Kyle here and the pilot will take you along."

Bonnibel bowed in respect. "Thank you, Mister-"

"Call me Ben. I really don't like the formalities. Hehe..."

"Thank you, Ben."

"I'll see you guys later." he said as he wandered off. "_Man, Kevin's gonna kill me..._"

The two girls looked at Kyle now. They stared at his strange case of hair and eye color, clearly having not seen anything like it before.

"You two can just follow me." Kyle instructed.

The group walked up to the SCAMPER pilot who let them onboard almost immediately. Kyle couldn't help but notice him blushing the moment he saw Bonnibel and Marceline. As the aircraft took off and headed towards the Pimpleback Mountains, Bonnibel took the time to examine the various 2x4 control consoles lined against the wall.

"How do these contraptions work?" she wondered aloud. "I do not see any logic in how bottle caps can act as buttons."

"Sorry." the pilot told her. "KND operative knowledge only. And you're way too old to join now."

"But you're a teenager..." Marceline pointed out.

"Whether you stay in or not depends on how much the leader trusts you though that condition's slightly changed until this invasion is over."

"Okay..."

Marceline began mindlessly strumming her axe while she waited for the vessel to arrive. Bonnibel continued observing the machinery, still trying to figure out it's function. Kyle sat back a considerable distance away, watching them both intently. Something was just not right about them. It was not in a way like the extraterrestrials or demonic creatures he had met. It was a strange feeling.

"What do you think?" he said in his mind.

"I am not quite sure myself," Riyos answered, "but I would play it safe and not aggravate the vampire. Though the pink-haired one seems to be mostly harmless."

"Maybe Gwen will pick up on this..."

Time passed as the SCAMPER came over the mountain border between Acorn Flats and the Pimpleback mountain region. Looking out the window, Kyle noticed the SACT barricade was no more. He thought of Slinkman and the rest of the campers back at Camp Kidney, wondering if they found out yet.

"It's pretty dark here." Bonnibel remarked. "Sunlight barely reaches through this cloudy sky."

"Just the way I like it!" Marceline teased.

"So what business do you three have here?" the pilot asked. "Not many people come here besides Plumbers anymore."

"We... We heard that our missing friend was spotted here. We just wanted to make sure."

"Oh. Well, I hope you find him!"

The SCAMPER came to landing at the cliffside looking over the encampment. Bonnibel and Kyle walked over to the edge while Marceline was being pestered by the KND pilot with his infatuated thoughts and questions.

"What's that place over there?" Bonnibel asked pointing towards the large basin-like formation in the Haunted Ridge.

"It's an old mining camp. Nobody uses it anymore. I don't think you'd want to go there right now after what just happened there recently."

"What?"

"It'll be a long story. Maybe I'll tell if we get enough time. C'mon. Gwen's probably waiting for me."

Kyle lead the way after Bonnibel fetched Marceline. Once they were outside Gwen's cabin, Kyle stepped forward and knocked. After a few seconds, Gwen opened the door.

"Kyle! Finally! He's over-... Uh... Who are they?"

"This is Bonnibel and Marceline. They say that they know this 'Ice King' person."

"Wait..." Gwen took a moment to examine the girls once more. "Don't tell me you're-... Oh man! I shouldn't have made him go off like that!"

"What are talking about?" Marceline asked.

"...Besides the Ice King...you're also looking for a boy named Finn, right?"

At that instant, Bonnibel's eyes lit up with hope.

"You mean he was here! He's safe!"

"Yes, but...I sorta sent him off yesterday."

"Why did you do that?"

"He wanted to see Dexter about a sword of his. I'm sorry. If I would've known you two would show up this quickly, I-"

"No... It's fine. I'm just glad that Finn's safe..."

"What about Jake and Lady Rainicorn?" Marceline asked. "Do you know where they are?"

"Sorry." Gwen replied. "I'm still trying to gather information about any strange sightings that might lead to them."

"Then where's this Dexter kid? We'll just catch up to him!"

"Dexter's in Townsville."

"What! We've could've run into him if we hadn't-! Augh!"

"Marceline. It's not your fault. This was both of our decisions."

"Yeah, but who knows if Johnny's already heading back to Bravo? How're we gonna get there? Hitchhike?"

"There's no need for that." Gwen told them. "I hold some superiority within the ranks right now so arranging flights to and from places is no problem for me. It'll be a little abusive of my privileges, but I guess helping a group of friends stranded in a strange new world get back together would justify it."

"Wait. You know we're not from here!"

"Finn told me all about Ooo. And don't worry. I haven't told anyone about you being a vampire." Gwen then looked at Bonnibel. "Also, Miss, would you prefer me to address you as 'Bonnibel' or your formal title?"

"...Please. Call me Princess or Princess Bubblegum. I am much more used to it."

"Alright. Now that that's settled, let's move on to the next thing, the Ice King. We've had him locked up ever since he and Finn arrived here, but he's getting too much for our makeshift cells to handle. I'm being forced to transfer him to the more secure containment facility at Mount Blackhead."

"Why did you lock him up?"

"I assume he's normally not extremely aggressive? The moment he saw me, he immediately attacked. Finn tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen no matter what so we were forced to knock him out. Since then, he's tried to break out and has been mumbling to himself in a psychotic manner."

"Perhaps I should examine him. I do have experience in the medical field."

"I don't think that would be a good idea if he attacks anything that moves... But he did seem less hostile when around Finn so maybe he'll respond to you. Marceline, you're strong enough to hold him back in case he attacks, right?"

"If he doesn't have his crown, then it's no problem."

"Alright. Follow me."

Gwen lead the three to the other side of the area. They approached a large cabin where a small group of Plumbers had gathered. Seeing Gwen among them, one of the guards inputted a password and pressed a button on the console installed in the wall. A metal hatch opened up and out came a cage containing a large elderly man with light blue skin. He wore blue tunic that made him look overweight, but in truth he was quite skinny. His hair was snow white and his long beard almost reached the ground when he stood. The strange part of his eyes was that there were no pupils. They were pure white. To top it all off, he had an extremely long pointed nose.

"Oh my..."

Princess Bubblegum stared at the Ice King with pity while Marceline looked on with some disgust at his current appearance.

"Woah. What the heck happened to you?"

The Ice King instantly eyed the girls upon hearing their voices.

"Oh! Princess! And...the other one! Please! You have to get me out so I can _kill_ these fools!"

"Ice King!" the Princess pleaded. "Please come to your senses!"

"Oh, no! They've gotten to you too! Just like Finn! Where's my crown? **MY CROWN**!"

The Ice King began trashing around in his cage, flinging himself at the bars trying to knock them down or force the door open. Nearby Plumbers were forced to electrocute him to stop his attempts. The Ice King soon fell asleep, having exhausted his energy.

"This is much worse than I thought..." the Princess muttered. "We have to find out what's causing this!"

"When Finn was still here," Gwen said, "he mentioned you guys fighting a demon known as Demongo. I believe he might be the cause of this man's condition. Could any of you recall anything helpful about him?"

"That caped dude?" Marceline asked. "Finn, the Ice King, and I came last. It was Bonnie, Jake, and Lady Rainicorn that ran into him."

Everyone turned their heads to the Princess.

"It's true." she said. "Once we came into that chamber, he suddenly appeared right above us. But that's it besides the fight that followed. The five of us at that time arrived at the Ice King's palace at the same time."

"But you have to think." Marceline remarked. "There was something wrong with the Ice King's crown. I think it was making him act different...and crazier than usual."

"The crown? Yes! That must be it? Gwen, where did you store it?"

"The crown? It should be in our vault. Who did I give it to-? Nathan! Go get the crown, but make sure you don't touch it."

A Plumber behind Gwen gave a salute and ran off towards another cabin. After a few minutes, he came back outside with a golden crown contained inside a box made of highly advanced technology. The crown was pointed, and it was adorned with dark black crystals. Princess Bubblegum carefully lifted the box to get a closer look.

"The crown... These jewels should not be like this. Were they this color when you first retrieved it?"

"I don't think so." Gwen replied. "Come to think of it. I think they were red."

"Then a curse was cast upon this crown... But who would be able to cast a curse powerful enough to overwhelm it?"

"I take it Demongo, or at least records of him, don't exist where you come from? He's a powerful demon who serves an even more sinister master. If anyone would have access to powerful magic, then it's them."

"But how'll we remove it?" Marceline asked.

"You'll either need an even more powerful curse to override to the current one or an equally powerful vanquishing spell to remove it."

"Okay. Then where can we find someone who knows how?"

"Not many people take up the magic arts anymore. It's rare to find one unless they have a magical background. Hmm... She might be able too..."

"Who?"

"I haven't met her myself, but I've heard rumors of a shaman or someone with a vast knowledge of magic who lives in Orchid Bay City."

"Great...we already passed her..." Marceline groaned. "But we can't go back. Thanks to little Miss Perfect here, the Camdy Pirates are hunting us down. Is there anyone else?"

"Well... Yes, but they will be much more difficult."

"What do you mean?"

"There's this samurai named Jack. I've heard his sword will vanquish any evil so letting the crown simply touch the blade should restore it. The problem is that nobody knows where he is."

"That just seems like an endless search." the Princess remarked. "Is there anyone else?"

"There's...him, but I don't know if he would be willing to help or not. There's this other shaman named Hex. The only difference is that he's evil and probably won't be willing to help someone unless it involves taking down Fuse."

"If he's doing no harm now then let's just try. It would be pointless to harm two innocent bystanders, assuming he wouldn't go that far."

"Alright. If you want to meet him, there's this canyon north of here. At the depths of that canyon is an ancient village. You'll find him there. I suggest you stay with Kyle as he accompanies the escort to Mount Blackhead. It'll be much easier to just take a SCAMPER."

"Thank you, Gwen."

"Kyle. You're job it to just keep an eye on the Ice King. Sorry about this. I would've gotten a KND ship to pick it up, but they're busy over there right now. I don't know what caused it. Anyway, make sure he doesn't escape as the cage is weaker when mobilized and it might be possible that Fuse would have an eye on him."

"Got it."

A group of five Plumbers formed the escort team. One man with a strong build pulled along the cart that carried the cage while the other four, armed with rifles, acted as guards. Kyle and the girls kept along at the same pace as them, but a few meters back. Along the way, he was answering all the girls' questions about the Fuse, the war, and Aetas. He was also learning more about where the girls came from in return.

Apparently, they came from a land called Ooo in either another time period or alternate universe; they wouldn't clarify. They had accidentally gotten themselves trapped in this world thanks to an encounter with a demon named Demongo. Kyle had brought out his own Nano version of the demon to clarify his appearance. The Nano was still good at heart, but being based off an evil creature made taunting and teasing irresistible for him. Nevertheless, Princess Bubblegum found him to be adorable. Kyle explained what he knew about Nanos and how to create them. The Princess remarked about how Kyle sort of reminded her about Finn. Her friend was a well known adventurer where she came from and battled all sorts of monsters and evil. Kyle thought that judging by how she spoke of Finn, the Princess was harboring a little crush on him. Even Marceline called her out on this observation, embarrassing her.

"Hey, boy!" one of the guards called out. "We've got some Slime Serpents up ahead. Help us take care of them!"

"Oh! On it!" Kyle replied.

Kyle ran ahead and drew his blade to confront the Fusion creatures up ahead. They were medium-sized creatures made of twisted and tangled tree roots and branches. They weren't very long, but they were surprisingly agile. Their tails and even their tongues split into two. The primary attacks of these monsters seemed to be just attempting the bite their victims. Kyle waited patiently for one to approach. Once close enough, he moved in for a swing. If he missed, he quickly used one of his Nano's barriers and jumped back to let one of the Plumbers behind him to finish it off. After the few minutes, the road was clear again.

"Nice moves, kid." Marceline remarked.

"Thanks..." he replied wiping the green slime off his clothes. "Ugh... Those things were covered in Fusion Matter."

"You're not hurt are you?" the Princess asked.

"I'm fine really. You don't have worry about me. C'mon, I think we're almost at Leaky Lake."

Up ahead, the group ascended a large hill and sighted the lake below. Princess Bubblegum was showing disgust at how what she assumed was a beautiful lake was turned into a green polluted cesspool. She felt compelled to fix it but knew there was nothing she could do at this moment.

They grouped proceeded without a word. They took the eastern fork around the lake and within an hour, they reached Mount Blackhead with minimal breaks and Fusion monster interruptions along the way. The girls were impressed by the outpost mainly for how it was built, in a similar fashion as a SCAMPER. It only drove the Princess more crazy to figure out how children were able to build technology of this caliber with these materials. A KND transport carrier who had been waiting for them grabbed the cage with a crane and headed up the mountain. The Plumber who had been dragging the cart handed a paper filled with instructions to the KND soldier assigned to meet him. Once finished, they both gave a salute and the group of Plumbers headed back. Kyle and the girls proceeded through the gates. At the top, they came face to face with Numbuh 4 and Numbuh 3.

"Hey, mate." Numbuh 4 greeted Kyle. "Gwen told us you were comin'. Sorry about makin' ya come all this way."

"It's okay."

"Hello there!" Kuki happily greeted the girls. "My name's Kuki! But people usually call me Numbuh 3!"

Princess Bubblegum was struggling at how to answer. She and Marceline had been keeping their origins a secret, but now that they knew Finn was revealing it...

"I'm...Princess Bubblegum..."

"Oh! You're a princess? That's so cool!" She then turned to Marceline. "And what's your name?"

"Marceline."

"Welcome to Mount Blackhead!"

As Numbuh 3 was being her energetic self, Numbuh 4 took Kyle aside to speak with him privately.

"Those two with you?"

"Yeah... What about them?"

"Just making sure. Everyone's all edgy since our watchtowers spotted a weird thing flyin' in the sky."

"You want me to find it?"

"Nah. We've got our other members coverin' that. You're good with all that supernatural mumbo-jumbo, right? Magic and stuff?"

"Not...really. Just seen people use it."

"Well, there's this girl who showed with her 'boyfriend'. They were injured so our doctor nursed them back to health and they've been staying for a while now. The weird part is that the boy's been acting like a zombie. He doesn't respond to anybody but the girl, like he's in a trance or something."

"Do you know what could be causing it?"

"One of our nightwatch claims he saw the girl sneaking around one night with a weird book in her hands. He's a believer so he thought she was a witch or something."

"Then where is she? This seems interesting..."

"She usually stays with-Over there! That's her!"

Kyle turned to where Numbuh 4 was pointing to see a teenage couple walking down the dirt road. They were Ed and Marie. Just like Numbuh 4 said, Ed was acting like a zombie. He had a blank expression and his eyes that only looked forward. May, on the other hand, was happily clinging to Ed's sleeve with her right arm. In her other arm, Kyle spotted a familiar sight he thought he'd never see again.

"That's... But how is this possible? I thought Riyos destroyed it!"

Grasped in May's hand was the Book of Prophecy.


	46. Common

**Chapter 46 - Common  
><strong>

**Author's Notes: **

- crappy backstory for Len time!

* * *

><p>Kyle was currently on a communication line with Gwen. After informing Blossom and Numbuh 2 about May possessing the Book of Prophecy, they both directed Kyle towards Gwen since she knew more about magic than they did and was more trustworthy. They were willing to fully detail the events that occurred at Eternal Meadows if she asked.<p>

"Other than Ed acting strange," Gwen began, "nothing else seemed wrong?"

"Pretty sure." Kyle replied. "But how did that book...'repiece' itself?"

"Only a being with enough magical knowledge could've possibly restored it. Does that bring up any suspicions?"

"The only people I know that are like thatare Grim and HIM. I don't see why either of them would want the book. Maybe HIM when I think it over, but if he did, he would've stolen that book years ago."

"No. That book was originally created for the use of humanity. Only people like us can harness its true power, otherwise you'll get only a fraction or a messed up variation."

"So I only went up against a portion of that book's strength..."

"Anyway, during one of my summer vacation, I was visiting Peach Creek and happened to hear gossip about the Kankers. Honestly, never in my life did I think this would ever be useful. Apparently, May's not the brightest of the bunch. If it's true, then she definitely can't figure out the book's potential fast enough."

"So you want me to snatch the book ASAP?"

"First, we need to see if there's a way to restore Ed to his former self. If you take the book before I can figure out the reversing condition when I analyze it then May could already have run off with Ed. Also...if it's not too much trouble...could you get Princess Bubblegum and Marceline in on the act? I know they want to see Hex, but we'll need all the help we can get."

Kyle disconnected and looked towards the nearby building where Princess Bubblegum and Marceline were conversing with each other. Somehow, Marceline had convinced the princess to get rid of her tomboyish disguise and start wearing a more matching style to her tastes. She still didn't wear anything that symbolized royalty except for the gold tiara with a green encrusted jewel on her head. She was now wearing a pink hoodie and magenta jeans as well as also having her hair down.

"Hey." Kyle awkwardly called to them as he approached. "I...may need a small favor from you two..."

"Sorry, Kyle." Marceline replied. "But we really have to keep going."

"Hold on." Princess Bubblegum interrupted. "I believe we should at least listen to his request. We do owe him and Ben for getting us here."

"...Fine..."

"What is it, Kyle?"

"Sometime ago, I was involved in a massive battle where a Fusion managed to get his hands on a powerful artifact. I thought I destroyed it, but...I just saw someone that had it with her..."

"And what is this 'powerful artifact'?"

"The Book of Prophecy. You've heard of it before?"

Princess Bubblegum almost fell back at the mentioning of those words. Marceline looked at her in confusion, evidently unaware of why she was doing this.

"Y-You mean someone has it?" the Princess asked in an extremely worried tone. "We have to retrieve it right away before it falls into the wrong hands!"

"Bonnie, what's with you? Am I missing something?"

"Uh... Oh! There's no point in hiding it now... Only the most trusted royalty in Ooo are aware of the Book of Prophecy. It's powerful item that's supposed to be sealed away, but I guess that hasn't been done yet... Kyle, please, tell us how we can help."

Kyle directed their attention to a cabin where Numbuh 4 had earlier told him that May and Ed were staying.

"A blonde-haired girl has it, but I think she used some kind of spell on the boy with her. We need to figure out a way to reverse it before we can take it back."

"That's easy!" Marceline exclaimed. She immediately seized Princess Bubblegum's arm, much to her surprise, and was now pulling her along.

"M-Marceline! What are you-!"

Marceline didn't let the princess finish as she knocked on May's cabin door and quickly left, leaving the princess all alone. Before Princess Bubblegum could even move, the door already opened. May stood there with the Book of Prophecy still held by her side.

"Who are you?" she asked suspiciously. "And why do you smell like...gum?"

"Uh...uh... My name is...Bonnibel. Yeah! I was just...exploring the area since I'm on a...camping trip! Since I'm staying her, I wanted to get to know the other people here."

"Okay... Sorry, but I'm busy."

"W-Wait! Isn't there...y'know...something you'd like to do? I mean, where's the fun of staying inside with nothing fun to do all day?"

"Well, I guess... But can I bring along my boyfriend too?"

"Of course! The more, the merrier! Perhaps I can offer some advice to you two?"

May ran inside and came back not long after that. Ed, still in his trance was walking with her now. Princess Bubblegum stared at the boy, feeling pity for him. Taking her eyes of him to avoid May's suspicion, she noticed May was still holding the Book in her other hand.

"Oh! You're going to carry that with you? That'll just be a burden! Why don't you leave it behind? I'm sure nobody's going to steal it."

"Uh...alright. But we need to be back by nighttime!"

"Plenty of time! I heard a great marketplace is nearby here! Let's check it out."

May sent Ed back inside to put the Book on the table. He only nodded and did as he was told. The group then headed off toward the crowd of cabins converted into a marketplace in the eastern part of the fortress. Now they were gone, Marceline and Kyle, who had been watching from a distance, approached the cabin and inspected the lock.

"It won't open." Kyle muttered. "You good with picking locks?"

"Too much work. Here. Hold this for me."

Marceline handed Kyle her umbrella. The cabin was fortunately under the shade of the leaves so Marceline didn't have to worry about the sun's rays handicapping her. Using her powers, Marceline flew up to the window and proceeded inside from there. Kyle waited a few seconds until he heard the lock undone and Marceline, in a manner of showing off, welcomed him inside and bowed to him. The inside of the cabin was fairly normal-looking. Two beds, one to each side, were bolted to the floorboards. A wooden table and a set of chairs were placed against one of the corners. Resting on the nightstand between the beds was the Book of Prophecy.

"Mission accomplished!" Marceline gloated and she gave the Book to Kyle. "Let's help that guy and get this over with."

"Just hold on. The last time I saw this thing, the words weren't even in a language I could understand. How did she even get to use this thing?"

Kyle opened the Book and began reading the range of pages where the bookmark was left. Just like before, the pages were filled with unknown characters, the only understandable things being the illustrations. Kyle continued observing the pages while Marceline waited outside seeing as how he would be a while and they at least needed a lookout.

Kyle spent almost a quarter of an hour attempting to make sense of these words. He was about to give up in frustration when he came to a seemingly random page. For some reason, he found himself able to read the words. They were still clearly in this apparently forgotten alphabet, but they perfectly made sense to him as if his mind spontaneously knew the meaning. The parts he was able to read were strangely glowing a light green color with a light blue veiling.

_Reversal enchantment: Purifying light, vanquish the dark powers and free the soul imprisoned within its influence._

"A spell?" Kyle wondered aloud.

"It appears so." Riyos answered. "I believe this will cure your friend, but unfortunately you won't able to utilize it."

"Why?"

"I am a demon who is bonded to your soul. My inability to use vanquishing or 'Holy' magic applies to you as well. You will need someone with a connection to the Divine or at least someone with a neutral standing. Perhaps your 'Bubblegum' friend?"

"It's worth a try..."

Kyle rejoined Marceline and informed her of the situation. She looked at Kyle awkwardly when he suggested having Princess Bubblegum cast the reversal spell.

"There...might be a small problem with that... There was an incident that resulted in Bonnie getting possessed by someone known as the Lich King. She's good at heart, but Holy powers might not respond to her because of what happened."

"Then who else can do it?"

"Friend in need?" a female voice asked.

Kyle and Marceline turned and saw a female around Kyle's height. She wore a cloak that covered her entire body. A large hood covered her head, barely exposing her face. Kyle noticed Marceline had inched back a little, clearly bothered by her somehow.

"Well?" she calmly asked again. "Care for my assistance?"

"Who-... Who are you?" Kyle asked.

"...a passing by stranger. I sensed a strange energy source in this region and it led me to you two. I see you have the Book of Prophecy. Care to explain yourselves?"

"So what?" Marceline angrily asked. "So you can just take it from us no matter what we say!"

"I have no sinister intentions towards that book. I merely wish to see it at least in capable hands."

"And by 'capable', you mean?"

"I mean that two people of Netherworldly influence should not be possession of it."

"But you wouldn't want to cause a scene now," she pointed out, "especially with all these soldiers around, would you?"

"Obviously not, but I also understand that you plan on giving this book to a magic adept in the Pimpleback Mountains once this ordeal is resolved?"

"How long have you been eavesdropping on us?" Kyle asked suspiciously.

"More than enough. I'm willing to cast aside my intentions to fight and assist you as long as you keep to your word that the adept acquires the Book."

"How exactly will you help?"

"You require a Divine sorceress, correct?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"Hand me the Book and show me the correct page."

Kyle hesitantly did as he was told. The girl analyzed the writings, apparently able to read the inscribed text with no problems.

"Simple enough." she remarked as she handed back the Book to Kyle. "Show me to your friend that's needs to be cured."

Kyle and Marceline escorted the girl to the marketplace area. Marceline walked in front of her while Kyle followed from behind, still wary of her pulling any sort of trickery. Marceline soon alerted the two when she spotted Princess Bubblegum and the others exiting a clothing store. Kyle told her to go on ahead and inform the princess of the situation while he stayed behind with the girl.

"So what's your name?" Kyle asked.

"You don't trust me?" she answered. "Funny. Of all people, you're the last person I'd expect to hear that question from..."

"What are you-?"

"This distance will do."

The girl raised her arm as her hand began glowing and was surrounded in a sphere of transparent white light. She uttered the enchantment from the Book of Prophecy. After a few seconds, it seemed nothing happened; the girl already lowered her arm.

"It's done." the girl said as she turned to Kyle. "Now I expect that book to be within the magic adept's possession by nightfall."

The girl slowly walked away as Kyle watched. Kyle felt no need to stop her and hurried towards the others. By the time he caught up, he found Ed wildly flailing his arms with May still grasped onto them. Marceline and the princess had unfortunately been standing in the way of Ed's fear-induced rampage and ended up being sent flying towards a nearby tree when Marceline attempted to shield the princess.

"Kanker!" Ed shouted hysterically. "Get her off! Get her off!"

Ed was continuously running around circles, drawing attention from almost everyone within the fortress. Some of the KND soldiers were already attempting to restrain him with no success; Ed surprisingly had much higher strength than that of a normal human. Kyle was forced to join in and use his Nanos' stunning and sleep powers to sedate him. After much effort, Ed fell over unconscious. May, who had somehow managed to cling onto Ed's arm the entire time, was dizzily waddling before finally falling over against a building. KND agents were helping other downed operatives while Kyle went to help the girls.

"You two all right?"

"Ugh... Yeah, we're fine." Marceline moaned. "I swear that kid's not human..."

"Did you retrieve the Book?" Princess Bubblegum asked.

"Got it right here." Kyle replied, holding the Book in front of her. "Thanks, you guys. For helping and all when you could've just left."

Princess Bubblegum gave a small laugh and smiled. "We were doing what was for the best~!"

"What was all that racket about!" a voice exclaimed.

Kyle turned to see Numbuh 4 with Numbuh 3 following right behind him with Bullet in her arms. The squirrel seemed perfectly healed now, no longer wearing any kind of bandage or support.

"This kid went on a rampage, sir!" an agent answered. "What shall we do with him?"

Numbuh 4 stepped forward and crouched down towards the unconscious Ed. He then looked towards May who was being attended to by other operatives.

"...Get them to the infirmary, stat. Make sure the boy and girl are separated. I don't want this happenin' again. We'll get another punishment from 362 if that happens."

"Yes, sir!"

A small team of medical units soon came by and placed all the seriously injured and unconscious on gurneys, immediately wheeling them to the hospital wing. Once the gathered crowd was dispersed, Numbuhs 4 and 3 went over to check on Kyle and the others. Seeing Princess Bubblegum, Bullet hopped out of Numbuh 3's arms and sniffed Princess Bubblegum who responded with a worried gesture. Numbuh 3 was lucky enough to grab Bullet before she could bite the Princess' leg.

"I'm sooo sorry!" Numbuh 3 desperately exclaimed. "Sometimes Bullet's appetite gets the better of her!"

"N-No worries! Hehe..."

"So what're you two still doing here? We already told the SCAMPER guy to wait for you. He's probably asleep of boredom right now!"

"We...had an issue we needed to take care of. But it's resolved now so there's no need to get yourselves involved!"

"Okey dokey then! C'mon, Bullet! Let's go play with the rest of your animal friends!"

Numbuh 3 merrily skipped off with Bullet as the others watched.

"You guys haven't sent that squirrel back to Townsville yet?" Kyle asked.

"We were," Numbuh 4 replied, "but the little runt wanted to stay behind and protect the animals here. Kuki's the one who told Bubbles about it and she was perfectly fine with it as long as the runt was happy."

"It must be nice helping her out." Princess Bubblegum remarked.

"Y-...Yeah... Anyway, I hope none of you are hurt. We'll make sure we'll get the full story out of those two when they wake up."

"Please go easy on them. The boy is completely innocent, you can hold my life to it, and I'm sure the girl was just confused."

"I'll remember that. Take care, you guys."

Numbuh 4 walked away to meet up with a group of KND agents still needing to draw up a report of what just occurred. Now just the three of them, Kyle escorted the girls to the SCAMPER station. Like Numbuh 3 had assumed, the pilot had fallen asleep in a chair set against a wall. Marceline was forced to awaken him and dragged him onto the SCAMPER as she waited for the princess to finish her conversation with Kyle.

"I know I've been saying this too much, but thank you once again. Please make sure the Book does not fall into the wrong hands, especially this alien overlord attempting to conquer the planet."

"Don't worry. I will."

Princess Bubblegum bowed in respect and bid Kyle farewell as she boarded the SCAMPER. After a few seconds, the SCAMPER took off towards the eastern skies. Kyle was kept waving until it became obvious the girls couldn't see him any longer. He continued watching the SCAMPER till the point it disappeared behind the mountain view. Now alone, Kyle held the Book of Prophecy in his hands. He opened it back to the page where he read the enchantment, but it had suddenly become unreadable to him once again.

"Weird... I can't read it anymore."

"I must have responded to something." Riyos suggested.

"Like a need or desire for something?"

"It is possible, but an artifact of this caliber can work in mysterious ways. Anyway, you need give this book to Gwen before that girl comes after you like she implied."

"I know... Say, do you know who she was?"

"...I do not. Get moving."

"Alright, alright..."

Once the next SCAMPER was available, Kyle boarded it and flew back to the Pimpleback Mountains. Gwen was already standing there waiting for him upon arrival.

"How'd it go?" she asked.

Kyle confidently held the Book directly in front of him. Impressed, Gwen took it from Kyle's hands and attempted to read it. It was clear she also couldn't understand the writings.

"So the stories are true... It really is written in a forgotten language..."

"But...there was something strange about it." Kyle pointed out. "There was certain section I was able to read. I don't know how. I just...did, but now it just looks like unintelligible words now."

"One story says the Book has a mind of its own and, if it wants, responds accordingly to a situation. And there's another story that says only someone with a knowledge of this forgotten language can unlock its full potential."

"So it gave me solution to solve Ed's problem because I wanted to?"

"That's what I'm assuming. Yes."

"So what are you gonna do with it?"

"Well...if I ever find free time between managing the team here and tracking down Jake and Lady Rainicorn, I could start working on translating the text to find useful information about future events."

"I thought you said-"

"I did, but I know someone who probably knows this language. In the meantime, I need you to help me with another problem. There's a good chance you'll have to fight this time."

"What is it?"

"One of our scout teams just reported an energy spike inside the Infected Zone here, the crystal mines. I think a Fusion may have gotten inside. We need to find the source of this energy and put a stop to it. The crystals in this region are prized for their unique properties in powering weaponry. If Fuse manages to seize total control, we might be facing mass infection of the southeastern Wilderness."

"I'll take care of it. Where's the entrance to this place?"

Gwen hesitated to answer for a bit. "I'm sorry it seems somewhat illogical, but the people who built the mine placed the entrance at the middle of the mountain rather than the base. You'll have to climb up mountain path. We have a Dexbot up there monitoring who goes in and out. If there's a Fusion, he must've been disguised or tunneled inside. Wait for me up there until come with some of the Plumbers. I'll need to lock this in a safe place first."

Kyle nodded and headed up the mountain. It was tiring for his legs but he finally made it to the mine entrance. A Dexbot was standing by, guarding an energy shield that prevent unauthorized access to the mines. Upon noticing Kyle and following its default programming, it immediately told him that deputized Plumbers or those with special identification were allowed. Kyle sat by a campfire ground, apparently used for those on guard duty, but it was empty. He waited for a quarter of an hour until he spotted Gwen and his Plumber squad coming up the mountainside. One of the first people Kyle eyed was Len who was standing directly behind Gwen. Len returned the same expression although with more malice.

"Do we really have to bring him?" Len asked, completely aware Kyle could hear him.

"Lighten up, would ya?" Gwen replied. "And if it makes you feel better, you lead the others inside. I'll stick with Kyle."

"Fine with me!"

Len took the lead as the others Plumbers grudgingly followed him, only doing so because of superior authority. Each Plumber showed their identification and the Dexbot lowered the shield. Now they were gone, Gwen sat next to Kyle who was still by the campfire.

"Look. I'm sorry about Len. It's just that-"

"I know. He doesn't trust anyone with demonic powers, right?"

"That's...only part of it. He rarely, if ever, talks about it, but... When he was a kid, Len's family owned an antique store. It was mainly him, his dad, and his younger sister who ran the shop while his mom worked another job. Len's father had a very strong...'obsession' with the supernatural. He liked trying to get his hands on artifacts that were supposedly tied to anything on the subject. I don't know when, but he managed to acquire a cursed relic. The details get vague from here, but an evil creature was sealed inside that relic and Len's father somehow freed it. Len's mother, who was on her way back from work managed to rescue Len in time. As for his father and sister..."

"So he's grown to hate everything about the supernatural because it killed those important to him..."

"It's why he joined the Plumbers. Len's mother was mostly human, but she had alien ancestry so she still had ways of getting in contact outside the planet. He wanted enough power so he wouldn't have to be powerless anymore and advanced alien technology was his solution at the time."

"I...understand what he's going through, but I've had different experiences that would make me think otherwise from his philosophy."

"I guess you two have way more in common than I thought... C'mon, if Len's rashness has already gotten to him, he's probably fighting the Fusion already."

Kyle followed Gwen to the mine entrance. The Dexbot attempted to send him away once again, but Gwen's testimony made it lower the shield. The two came to an elevator and rode it to the bottom. Once there, Kyle spotted what seemed like natural lighting at the end of the tunnel. Gwen took the lead as she lead Kyle inside a gigantic cavern. Sprouted from the center was the trunk of an enormous tree. It was dead now but still something to behold. Scattered around the giant tree were smaller trees though few in number. The unique aspect was that their leaves were bulbs of pure green crystal. As for the Infected Zone characteristics, large, oversized, glowing crystals of various coloration were scattered throughout the chambers and suspended in midair. A series of ziplines and the moving crystals acted as the path upward.

Noticing the two, a Plumber who had been put on standby approached Gwen and informed her of the situation. Suspicions of a Fusion occupying the Infected Zone were true. Len and a portion of the Plumber group were already infiltrating the Fusion's lair. The rest of the Plumbers had taken positions throughout the entire chamber to prevent the Fusion from escaping.

"Did you manage to confirm which Fusion double this is?" Gwen asked.

"Sorry, m'am. He was flying too fast for us to get a clear visual."

"Flying? With superpowers?"

"No. I'm positive he was using some sort of rocket technology."

"Alright. Keep up the good work and continue following your previous order. We'll rendezvous with Len."

Using her powers, Gwen formed a mana platform for her and Kyle to use as a shortcut to the portal. They eventually reached the circle of crystals that floated directly over the giant tree. Below the center was a spherical indentation, like a something had crashed into the tree and formed a crater. Resting inside it was a swirling ball of Fusion Matter. A Plumber who was watching over it informed Gwen that this was the Fusion Portal.

"This is really a Fusion Portal?" Kyle wondered aloud.

"It's different from the other ones," the Plumber replied, "but it's definitely a portal. The composition and energy readings are identical. Plus I saw Len and the others being teleported with my own eyes."

"Alright...if you say so..."

Kyle was the first to jump inside. Emerging from the other side, he quickly scouted the small chamber he appeared in, finding it empty. Deeper inside, he could hear the vague sound of gunfire and a few yells. Gwen appeared not long afterward and followed Kyle down the passageway. They came across remains of Fusion monsters. They were evidently not huge in size, but their numbers were great. Further down, Gwen stumbled upon a pair of Plumbers, one tending to the other injured one. It seemed he had suffered a blow to his side.

"What happened?" Gwen asked.

"The Fusion sent his swarm of Toxic Spawns after us. Len took on the most blows for us while I tried to get Thomas here to safety. I went back to convince him to retreat, but he just charged forward without listening to me."

"What about the Fusion? Is Len fighting him alone?"

"Yeah. James and David got separated when one of the Toxic Spawns caused a cave-in one of the passageways. We still need to find them and get them out."

"Alright. Get Thomas out here. I'll go search for James and David. Kyle, you catch up to Len and take out the Fusion."

Kyle nodded and ran down the passageway the Plumber pointed to. He prepared his rifle and followed the trail of Toxic Spawn remains and the sound of Len's loud grunts. Along the way he encountered a few remnant Spawns. They were basically regular Fusion Spawns that wore gas masks, had the ability to levitate, and were more agile. They proved too fast to have a steady aim so Kyle resorted to using sword slashes. After two more chambers, Kyle finally caught up to Len. His armor was already heavily chipped. Some of his body was even exposed, but he continued fighting. Just as Kyle entered the chamber, a Toxic Spawn had self-destructed directly in front of Len and rendered him too weak to stand up. Kyle quickly stood in front of him, sword in hand, and braced for whatever more the Fusion had in store.

"What...are you doing here?" Len wearily asked in a low voice. "I don't need-Ugh!" Len's wound was too painful for him to continue speaking.

"Just let me take care of this."

Kyle faced forward to confront the Fusion. It was clearly Numbuh 1's though like the Toxic Spawns, he also wore a gas mask. Surrounding his head in a triangle-shaped formation were three Toxic Spawns that seemed to act as his personal defense system.

"Well, well, well. _Another_ imbecile I need to eliminate!" he remarked. "You must be the boy who took back the Sweet Revenge from my comrades."

"And if I am?"

"Then I'll be looking forward to be the one who tells Lord Fuse that this nuisance is no more!"

Fusion Numbuh 1 motioned his Toxic Spawn brigade to release their assault upon Kyle. In droves of two or three, they charged at full speed, separating formation to circle Kyle once they were close enough and attacked from all sides. Kyle didn't have enough time to react and suffered a few direct hits before finally raising a shield with his Eddy Nano. Fusion Numbuh 1 merely laughed as he raised his blaster and fired, completely shattering the shield and sending Kyle back a short distance.

"Pay attention, kid! Cosmix is like fragile material for me! And my little friends here are Cosmix so don't think you'll be able to outdo me with Adaptium!"

Now that his Eddy Nano was drained of power, Kyle's only defense was his Professor Utonium Nano's shield, but it was also a Cosmix type and its version of the shielding power was meant for multiple people thus rendering it less effective in terms of power. Blaston Nanos were his only option. Kyle cycled through his Nano library in his mind, but none of them seemed effective enough except for one, and he didn't like it. Having no better choice, Kyle summoned his HIM Nano which immediately brought a feeling of nervousness to Fusion Numbuh 1 upon seeing it.

"W-Wait a minute... You're the one who-... Drones! Finish him off, now!"

The Toxic Spawns obeyed without question and began their assault once again. Unfortunately for them, it was too late as the HIM Nano had already activated its powers. It began mimicking the real HIM's creepy high-pitched laugh. The Toxic Spawn were then frozen in place, writhing in pain as their life energy was drained from their bodies. Fusion Numbuh 1 was the least affected obviously, but his personal defense system was now failing as well. Trying to act fast, he raised his blaster and attempted firing at the Nano only to be stopped by Kyle's sword.

"Damn you!"

Abandoning the protection of his three guards, Fusion Numbuh 1 activated his rocket shoes and immediately flew directly at Kyle without hesitation, catching him off guard. The Fusion tackled him to the ground, hoping to quickly finish off Kyle with his superior physical strength.

"Hold still!" he demanded.

"Now!" Kyle exclaimed.

At that moment, the HIM Nano's laugh changed into his deep, demonic, and menacing one. The life energy it had collected from the Toxic Spawns was now gathered into a swirling ball above its head. The HIM Nano raised his arms, taking control of the ball, and slammed it into the ground causing it to flow towards Kyle and the nearby Len. The latter, finally able to move again due to the Nano's rejuvenating powers quickly grabbed his rifle, carefully aimed, and fired directly into Fusion Numbuh 1. The Fusion was propelled back a small distance and fell lifeless onto the ground. By instinct, Kyle aimed his Nanocom at the remains and was able to create a Numbuh 1 Nano though unlike the real one, he wore a red turtleneck and gray shorts.

After making sure no stray monsters were wandering about, Kyle rushed to Len's side to check on his wound. It looked painful, but it was nothing too serious as long as he received medical attention. Len inched back an swatted Kyle's hand as he attempted to inspect the other places where he was hurt.

"I...don't need help from...a demon lover..."

"Don't move. You're just making it worse."

"Did you hear what I said?... I don't need-"

"It's not like I asked for this y'know... One of my best friends died because of this as well... Now relax and let me see where they got you."

Len just remained silent as he finally let Kyle checked on the damage done to his backside.


	47. Cast Ashore

**Chapter 47 - Cast Ashore  
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**Author Notes:**

- Tales of the Abyss 3DS, new Kingdom Hearts 3DS trailer, and finding out about 60s Spiderman meme in one week? AMAZING!

* * *

><p>Kyle quietly sat outside on the porch of a cabin in the Pimpleback encampment. He was waiting for Gwen, who was still inside, to fill him in on Len's status. It was already the next day so Kyle had more than enough time to naturally heal himself through Riyos' power. The sun was brightly shining down upon the area, an extremely rare case for this normally dark and cloudy region. Some of the Plumbers were already slacking off, wanting to fully enjoy the sunlight while it lasted as they couldn't remember the last time they saw and felt it.<p>

After half an hour of waiting, Gwen still hadn't opened to door. In the meantime, Kyle's Nanocom began vibrating. The screen listed the caller's identification as "Sticky".

"Hello?" Kyle answered.

"Kyle, my boy!" Stickybeard's voice loudly greeted at the other end. "Am I workin' this Nanocom contraption right? Numbuh 5's the one who set it up and-"

A loud musical tone suddenly drowned out Stickybeard's voice, but Kyle could still vaguely hear him ranting about his Nanocom's supposed "faults".

"Hello?" another voice said from Stickybeard's end. Kyle recognized it as Brock's. He still wasn't used to hearing him without the pirate talk. "Sorry about that. The Cap'n doesn't really get this stuff. I'll just relay what he says from here. Fine with you?"

"Uh, yeah..."

"The Cap'n gives his thanks for helping us take back our ship. We wanted to tell you that we just finished cleanin' up the last of that disgusting green goop and she's sailing across the ocean breeze again!"

"That's...good to hear."

"Anyway, the Cap'n wants to throw a party and is inviting you and Numbuh 5 to celebrate. We're docked in Orchid Bay City. Stop by if you can make it!"

"I'll see."

Brock was the first to hang up as Kyle turned to see the cabin door opening and Gwen stepping outside.

"Sorry about that." Gwen apologized for taking too long.

"How is he?"

"He's doing fine. He'll be unfit for missions for a little bit, but knowing his determination, he'll be back on his feet in no time... And also... He said to give you a 'smack in the head'... I'm not sure if that was a friendly gesture, but I think it's an improvement. Hehe..."

Kyle smiled at the thought. "It's alright. Anyway, I need to go. I'm meeting with someone later."

Gwen said goodbye to Kyle as he headed back to Mount Blackhead using the Monkey Skyway. He had intended to immediately hop over to the nearby SCAMPER upon landing, but he was stopped by Numbuhs 4 and 3.

"Hold up, mate." Numbuh 4 called out. "We heard you and Numbuh 5 were headin' on over to Orchid Bay."

"Yeah, that's right." Kyle replied.

"Oh, goodie!" Numbuh 3 joyfully exclaimed. "Then you can give her this!" She handed Kyle a present with a beautiful bow tied on top of it.

"What is this?"

"A present for Numbuh 5! I promised I'd get her something while me and Numbuh 4 were here, but fighting these Fusions never gave me or her enough free time to see each other. Do you mind giving it to her? Just say Wally and Kuki sent it~!"

Kyle smiled. "Alright, I will. See you!"

Kyle boarded the SCAMPER and took off for Orchid Bay City. It was located south of Marquee, right by the coastline. It used to be thought of as just any regular coastal city, but as the war began, it was revealed a high population of magical creatures had secretly resided within its borders. It came as a shock to people at first, the thought of possibly living with a stranger in your house without knowing it, but it died down somewhat as it was no different from coexisting with talking animals and aliens.

The SCAMPER landed at the main docks in the southwestern area of the city. Kyle stepped out to see the city's "unique" taste. He didn't know what triggered it, but the architects of Orchid Bay seemed to have a strange fondness for anchors. Benches, streetlights, and even trashcans had some "anchor influence" whether it was shape or design. No one really found it strange as the rest of the city adopted a tropical aquatic theme. Palm trees and other colorful foliage were planted within open gardens. Some buildings took the "aquatic" part even further by having large, oversized tubes of flowing water swirl around a building like a vortex.

The harbor in this city was a lot less industrious than normal. Marble ports all connected to a plaza with a souvenir store directly in the center. Above it was a towering monument. It could be best described as a large anchor with a pole sticking out that held a platform that had even more poles attached to a large wooden rotating steering wheel. Apparently, this was one of Orchid Bay's landmarks. The plaza was neatly maintained with a small garden encircling the souvenir shop.

The ships docked here were mostly boats belonging to other people but no longer used due to the dangers at sea now. The only ships still in use were the large ones armed with cannons and other weaponry. To the east most port, Kyle found two docked Candy Pirate ships, the Sweet Revenge and a new one he never saw before. The pirates standing by the ship were mainly conversing with each other, merrily drinking their mugs of root beer in celebration. Kyle was hesitant about approaching now that he thought he would stick out. He merely watched and went unnoticed until he felt a someone place his hand on his shoulder.

"So you came after all." Numbuh 5's voice greeted him.

"I could say the same."

"Heh. I'll never miss a good Sticky party!"

"I thought he was one of your sworn enemies?" Kyle teased.

"Just 'cause he's a villain doesn't mean he throws great parties!...and hands out free candy and soda."

Numbuh 5 pushed Kyle forward to get him moving. The younger Candy Pirates greeted Numbuh 5 in a more casual manner as they saw her approaching. Others cheered or clapped when they saw Kyle coming aboard the Sweet Revenge. The magnitude of the uproar caused by the two immediately made Stickybeard clear the way so he could personally welcome them.

"Glad you could be joinin' us, lads! Help yerself to the licorice and lollipop stash!"

"Thanks, Sticky." Numbuh 5 replied. " Oh, and how's that Nanocom holding up? You break it yet?"

"Eh... Brock's still teachin' me how to use the contraption. It's a good thing a I recruited a lad that's good with this technology stuff."

"Great to hear! Anyway, see ya, Sticky, y'know, if I have to leave right away in case of emergency."

Stickybeard left to rejoin his older crewmates' conversation while Numbuh 5 headed over to the boarding dock where most of the younger members had gathered. Kyle stayed on the ship and headed to the starboard side where Brock was lazily slumped over the wooden railing.

"You're not partying like them?" Kyle asked.

"What about you?... Yeah, I not really that type of guy. I usually just sleep until the Cap'n calls me for duty, but this racket makes it impossible..."

"I sorta know what you mean. So...the ship's sailing fine now?"

"Couldn't be better. The rudder was broken, but Jane and I fixed it up real easy... Oh yeah, Jane's just an old friend of mine. The idea to join the Candy Pirates was her idea. She always had a sense of adventure, dragging me along wherever she went, even forcing me to go sometimes."

"Is this pirate thing one of those 'forced' things too?"

"I...don't really know. This time, Jane didn't even talk to me about it. I went after her to see what was wrong and eventually ended up becoming a crew member. I guess the Cap'n saw potential when he found out how good my skills at navigation are."

"You ever talk to Jane about this?"

"No. I must've forgotten about it until now. We've just been getting along without question... Say, didn't I see you when I was in the Cul-de-Sac when we-"

"Brought Flapjack inside?" Kyle finished for him.

"So you were there...though the white hair's a drastic change."

"It's...how it always looked."

"Neat. Anyway, how is the little guy?"

"Once he got better, he traveled to Mount Blackhead with some KND agents. I met up with him again at Leaky Lake and had to save him from a giant Fusion serpent monster."

"What! He didn't get hurt again did he?"

"He's fine. He should still be at Mount Blackhead or safe with the KND."

"Good. Jane's been nagging me to find out about the kid for a while now. Oh, and what about those...people? What was he hallucinating about exactly?"

"His friends, Bubby and Cap'n K'nuckles. Double D's smarts say they would've ended up somewhere in the Wilderness."

"The Wilderness? We have a division stationed over there. It's fairly new and small, but we can send word for them to keep an eye out."

"Yeah, that'll be great."

"Alright, I'll tell the Cap'n when this whole party's over and done with."

Kyle spent the next few hours with Brock and occasionally Numbuh 5 and Stickybeard when one of them called him over. People were mainly asking about Kyle's powers and involvement with the Eternal Meadows battle. It seemed everybody wanted to know every single detail about Kyle now. He would've been overwhelmed with questions had Brock, Numbuh 5, and Stickybeard not stopped them sooner and demanded that they quit pestering him. Wanting to get away from it for a while, Brock took Kyle to the Sweet Revenge's crow's nest for some peace and quiet. It wasn't that special in the sense that it should look amazing. Basically a large bucket-shape structure at the top of the center mast, fitting three people at most. Brock opened a wooden box attached to the outer side and handed Kyle a pair of binoculars from the inside.

"Cap'n wants us to use telescopes," he told Kyle, "but I use these when he's not paying attention. Go on."

Kyle took the binoculars and pointed it towards the city. He could see the shopping plaza to the north much more clearly. People were mostly going building to building or relaxing by the makeshift beach and wave pool at the center. Pointing his head to the east now, Kyle noticed a small Infected Zone. It was a skate park. Observing it, he found it strange that no monsters lurked inside. In fact, he spotted two or three teenage skaters trying to performs various stunts utilizing the strange physics in this area.

"Jeez. Are they idiots?" Kyle wondered aloud.

"The skater guys?" Brock assumed. "Yeah, they've been coming and going for a while now. I think they're trying to organize a contest and turn that place into an obstacle course."

"At least it's...productive... Hm, wonder what's going in the ocean?"

"I doubt you'd find anything besides seagulls. There aren't any islands near-"

"Wait. What's that?"

Kyle pointed towards a distant figure out in the ocean. Brock took out his own, more powerful, telescope and tried to determine what this was. It seemed to be a large mass of ice, and it was slowly drifting towards the mainland in a northeastern direction. Brock focused his vision and deduced it to be a floating palace.

"What the? What's a castle of ice doing out here? I better tell the Cap'n..."

Kyle followed Brock as he raced down the ladder and staircases. Stickybeard was walking along the gangplank when Brock finally found him and almost knocked him overboard had Kyle not caught the back of his shirt in time. Brock didn't even let Stickybeard get a chance to speak and immediately informed him of the ice building offshore.

"And why do ye be wantin' us to go after it?"

"Why would something like that be out here in the first place? It could be hiding Fusions inside it, a perfect chance for the Fusions to launch a surprise attack!"

"You make a good point, lad...but the crew's in no shape to man the ship having wasted themselves..."

"But..."

"Where exactly is this thing headed?" Numbuh 5 said behind him.

"If it follows the same course, then it'll wash up on Bravo Beach."

"Bravo? Great. There's a Plumber brigade stationed there. I can just call up Ben and he'll get them on our side."

"Th-Thanks, Numbuh 5..."

"Why don't 'cha go with'em?" Stickybeard suggested. "I don't wanna feel like I did nothing. Besides me, you're the only able one of us right now and somebody, being me, has to stay behind and keep watch over the crew." Brock saluted and nodded. "Good. Now make us proud!"

Brock quickly retreated back inside the ship and came back a few minutes later, having retrieved his customized candy cane sword. Now ready, he departed with Numbuh 5 and Kyle. Numbuh 5 had used her CLOUDCOVER to reach Orchid Bay so Kyle and Brock had to awkwardly share the backseat. Numbuh 5 kept the ship hovering along the shoreline. She was speaking to Ben over the communication console while Brock kept surveillance on the giant piece of ice. Kyle, having no other role to fulfill besides lookout, was staring down, but that became boring when there was nothing but open road.

"Alright. Those guys'll be waiting for you." Kyle overheard Ben on the console. "And if its a Fusion trap, make sure that thing doesn't go anywhere. Bellwood's the next city over..."

"Copy that." Numbuh 5 replied. "You can count on us!" She disconnected from Ben and turned to Brock. "How is it so far?"

"No signs of life yet besides...weird...penguins?"

"Let me see."

Brock handed Numbuh 5 his telescope. Now that the ice was closer to shore, Numbuh 5 could see small penguins waddling across the stable ice. They were described as "weird" since they looked different from normal penguins. Their resembled Bloo in a way, though obviously with a black and white color scheme.

"You think it drifted here from the Artic?" Brock suggested.

"If it did, the Artic KND would've already reported it already... C'mon, we still need to get to Bravo before it does."

Numbuh 5 pushed the CLOUDCOVER to move at its maximum speed. Eventually, they reached the seaside town of Bravo. It was a popular tourist destination for the summertime. Technically it was officially called a town, but many people considered it a city due to the large amounts of summer homes, villas, and other housings located here. It's most popular attraction was their sandcastle, an extremely large medieval-styled structure that looked like a giant built it. Somehow, it remained completely stable and intact no matter how much water it took on. People of many ages treated it like their own water park. The more energetic used it as an exploration ground, playing all sorts of games that involved elaborate uses of the castle's interior. Older folks lounged in the shade or sun rays and drifted along the constantly flowing moat around the castle. As the ship approached the beach, Kyle noticed the sandcastle had been turned into an Infected Zone. Giant terrafusers had latched themselves onto the towers, dripping Fusion matter that slowly slithered into the now green and poisonous moat.

The ship came to a landing next to a lifeguard tower inside a barricaded area that was used as a base of operations. Outside, the group encountered a female Plumber.

"Welcome to Bravo." a she greeted them. She was an adult and wore her long dark hair in a ponytail. Accompanying her were her comrades. "Ben has entrusted our support to a 'Number Five'?"

"That's me." Numbuh 5 responded. "I don't think you're handling anything threatening. We just need a squad to protect the beach if something goes awry."

"I understand. We'll form a perimeter around the beach while you take care of things. Also, we have a small motorboat you can use to intercept that floating ice mass."

The Plumber squad leader escorted the three to a small wooden dock where a red motorboat awaited. Brock was the first to board, manning the engine, followed by Numbuh 5 and finally Kyle. Once they were all aboard, Brock started the engine and piloted the boat on a direct course towards the ice palace. When close enough, Brock reduced the boat's speed to match that of the ice. Numbuh 5 and Kyle then disembarked and began climbing the icy slope with caution. Kyle used his sword to regain his balance when he accidentally slipped or to catch Numbuh 5 if she did as well. At the top, they came to a medium-sized door. Numbuh 5 slowly opened it with caution. It was pointless to proceed quietly since the door made a loud creaking noise.

Inside, Kyle and Numbuh 5 found a large portion of the floor shattered and replaced with a gaping hole to the lower levels. It looked like a battle had taken place in here. Numbuh 5 approached the edge and looked down to see flooding seawater. Judging by what was still left and visible, the basement areas seemed to be a series of dungeons. Open and closed cells lined the walls and toppled ice pillars lied across the floor.

"Looks like a fight or earthquake broke out." Numbuh 5 observed. She then pointed towards the ceiling. "Icicles are missing from there. They were definitely huge, big enough to crush this ice if something made 'em fall."

"This place is huge. Will we even have time to search everywhere?"

"We'll just have to work ASAP. Anyway, we can split up and keep in contact. I'll take the upper levels. You take the basement."

Numbuh 5 ran off into a nearby hallway. Once he no longer heard her footsteps, Kyle approached a fallen pillar that was now arched against the wall. His slid down the ice and used his sword as his braking system. There weren't many places to search since a majority of the tunnels and corridors had caved in. Floor by floor, Kyle quickly glanced at each intact prison cell when he passed. He was mainly looking for occupants or survivors of whatever happened here, but anything that would catch his attention would suffice. If he found an non-collapsed tunnel, it only led to an empty storage room.

By the time he reached the seventh basement level, Kyle had already gone the deepest he could possibly go. The floor was already partially flooded and soaking his shoes. Unfortunately, Kyle found nothing of interest, not even a clue to what happened. He then proceeded to summon his Numbuh 2 and Edd Nanos. They were sent up to different levels, teleporting Kyle with them along the way until they finally reached the top where they waited for Numbuh 5. It didn't take long as she soon walked out of a nearby door.

"You find anything?" she asked.

Kyle shook his head no. "You?"

"I found the king's room. Kind of weird though. I would've expected ice furniture, but I found weights, a drum set, and other common stuff."

"I guess this place really is abandoned... Hm?"

Kyle heard Numbuh 5's Nanocom beeping in her pocket. She answered to find Brock speaking to her in a worried tone.

"We've got trouble!" Brock shouted over the speaker. "I don't know how, but a horde of Sickle Simians suddenly came bursting out of the Sandcastle! We need a little support here! Hurry! The ice has already stopped along the sandbar. The water shouldn't be too deep to cross!"

Numbuh 5 was the first to dash out the front door. Kyle followed and already found her skating down the icy slope with ease. He looked ahead to see Bravo Beach right below, the palace had come to a halt once it was wedged into the sand.

Though in a hurry, Kyle couldn't risk accidental injury and slid down at a slower pace, using his sword for steering through the turns. While he was sliding, Kyle looked ahead to see Numbuh 5, Brock, and the Plumbers combating the Sickle Simians. They were basically winged monkeys made out of molten rock. A mixture of a lava-like substance and Fusion Matter dripped from the cracks in their skin. Their names described their sharp sickle-like arms that they used as weapons. Their movements were wild and frantic so close combat was avoided unless one could keep up with the speeds.

The Plumbers were mainly fighting with their rifles and explosive charges. Numbuh 5 and Brock were together, fighting as a duo. Numbuh 5 would clip their wings with her pistols as the monsters approach while Brock would deal the finishing slash with his sword. Alternatively, Brock would slice the wings off as the monster swept by and left Numbuh to finish it with a plasma blast. Kyle stood there contemplating what would be an effective approach. Using his powers would draw unwanted attention, but the number of Sickle Simians swarming overheard wasn't decreasing at a fast enough rate. The heroes only needed more numbers.

"Guess now's a good time as any..."

One by one, Kyle summoned all of his remaining Nanos that still had energy and spread them across the entire battlefield. Due to the monsters' Cosmix advantage, Kyle paired each Adaptium Nano with another type to reduce their weakness being exploited. They each used their own battle-efficient abilities to either destroy the monsters themselves or restrain them for others to finish off. Overhead, the HIM Nano's draining abilities eventually caused the remaining Sickle Simians to drop out of the sky in exhaustion. The Plumbers easily rounded them up, tied them together, and detonated an explosive next to them.

Kyle withdrew all his Nanos except the one who still had energy to use their healing abilities. He treated the more seriously injured of the Plumbers who would need more time for recovery. Numbuh 5 was assisting Brock whose arm was slumped across her shoulder. One of the Sickle Simians had managed to cut his leg and right arm. She laid him on top of a mat the Plumbers had spread out until medical squads arrives.

"You okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine." Brock uttered. "Should've taken your advice..."

"Oh, just forget about it. I was just too used to giving out KND-style orders. It's my fault."

"Hey. I'm the one who was careless. After all...why do you think the Cap'n made me Lieutenant?"

"Everything all right here?" Kyle asked as he approached.

"Never better. Thanks for that huge assistance."

"No problem. Now... Where exactly did those things come from?"

"I was on my way back to the boat when a Plumber suddenly shouted. Before we knew it, there were Sickle Simians pouring out of the Sandcastle's tower windows."

"So Fusion's hiding out in there..." Numbuh 5 muttered.

"Simians shouldn't even be indigenous to here; that's way up north. Why else would they suddenly show up here?"

"Either way, we need to investigate before another incident like this happens again."

"Good luck, guys..."

Kyle and Numbuh 5 left Brock in the capable hands of a medical Plumber and headed off for the Infected Zone entrance. The Dexbot portal took them right to the entrance of the Sandcastle. Originally, the Sandcastle was completely accessible any time of day, but the town eventually decided to have a drawbridge mechanism installed to prevent the chance of overnight vandalism.

"That's odd." Numbuh 5 remarked. "The drawbridge's up... I didn't think it was still working with wild Fusion monsters running about..."

"How'll we get inside? The moat's too big to cross and my Nanos' energy won't be enough to protect us from the pollution."

"Hm... You could just use you powers to hop over there. Nobody's really watching with these walls and giant piles of sand."

"I guess...but I really don't like using them unless there's something seriously life-threatening about it..."

Before Kyle could upon Riyos, the mechanism that controlled the drawbridge suddenly activated. The bridge slowly came down and revealed a young teenage boy happily awaiting them. He was skinny and dressed in a light blue t-shirt. He wore darker colored shorts, a green backpack, and a strange white hat that covered his entire head except for his face. Once the bridge fully lowered, the boy quickly ran to meet up with the other two.

"Hiya! I'm Finn! I'm here to help!"

"What are you doing?" Numbuh 5 asked in suspicion. "How'd you know we'd be here?"

"Oh, this weird guy, Professor Paradox, took me here. He said if I help you guys, I'll be able to catch up with my friends! C'mon! Let's get going!"

"_So this the Finn guy they were looking for?_" Kyle thought to himself.

"Paradox?" Numbuh 5 questioned. "...Alright. If it's him, then I guess we can trust you. Follow us and keep your guard up."

"Roger!" Finn explained as he drew a brand new Dexlab-model sword, obvious by the shiny coating.

Numbuh 5 took the lead while the boys followed her. She was evidently more knowledgeable about the castle's interior so there was no need for the others to separate. Kyle took the opportunity to speak with Finn about his suspicions.

"So your name's Finn?" he asked.

"Yeah. Pretty awesome, huh? Yours?"

"Kyle."

"Neat. And sweet hair by the way! I thought only old people would have hair color like that!"

"Uh...thanks? Anyway, you don't happen to be the same Finn who was with Gwen in the Pimpleback Mountains, would you?"

"No, that's me. You know Gwen?"

"I was just with her earlier today. She told me about you and that you were looking for your friends."

"Yeah... We got separated and ended up in different places... Now, I'm back to trying to find them again..."

"Actually, I ran into two of them, Princess Bubblegum and Marceline."

"Wait, what! You found them! Where are they!"

"Uh... They were going to Devil's Bluff. I think it was north of where Gwen was."

"Aw man! I completely missed them! I have to get back there right away!"

"Don't worry. I'll help, but I need to take care of this problem first."

"Thanks, Kyle! You guys've got my full support!"

The group soon came to a large, towering entrance door that lead to the audience chamber. Numbuh 5 shot the locks, knocking them to the floor, and let the boys push each door. They proceed inside where they found a large chamber filled with decorative architecture. It was much considering it was made of sand, but the effort it must've taken to create this was breathtaking. The time for admiring had to be cut short as the sound of a slow clap was heard. Sitting on the throne at the far end was the Fusion of Mojo Jojo. He was comfortably leaning back in his chair, impressed that the three made it here.

"I don't know how you could've possibly gotten inside with the bridge raised," he said, "but that still doesn't mean you've won."

"You could've at least picked a less obvious hiding spot." Numbuh 5 remarked as she raised one of her pistols.

"Who said I was hiding? I was merely waiting for your arrival. And now that you're here... Monkeys, attack!"

From the observation balconies above, numerous Sickle Simians flew inside and began their barrage upon the group. Numbuh 5 was the first to shoot, but the Fusion was able to easily dodge it. Finn was next as he charged towards the Fusion. A group of Sickle Simians immediately formed a barricade to hinder his path and more of their brethren swooped down to attack him. He was able to destroy an ample number while Numbuh 5 shot down the leftovers. Finn was about to charge forward again until Numbuh 5 grabbed his arm and began pulling him back towards the exit.

"What are you doing!" Finn exclaimed. "He's over there!"

"Don't worry! Kyle will handle this! We just need to get out of here!"

"What do you-?"

Finn looked over to see Kyle had transformed into his demonic form, having no option other than running away. Finn stared in amazement as Numbuh 5 pulled him through the door and down the hallway. Kyle jumped back and began closing the doors with enhanced strength. It was inevitable that some Sickle Simians got through in time, but at least he was able to contain a majority of the monsters in the chamber for now. Seeing him alone now, the Sickle Simians began blindly swarming Kyle in large quantities. Kyle easily made quick work of them and finished his move by releasing an energy wave from his sword. The monsters, afraid of what might happen to them next, were now shrieking as they attempt to escape through the small doors in the balconies. Soon, the chamber was almost entirely empty, leaving Kyle and the Fusion at opposite ends.

"Come back here, you imbeciles!" the Fusion exclaimed in anger. He glared at Kyle before slowly backing away. "It just shows you that you can't rely on anyone these days! _I thought the formula was full-proof!_"

Kyle remained silent and was still approaching. The Fusion drew a large ray gun and began firing numerous different charges that Kyle dodged effortlessly. Finding himself to be in a hopeless situation, Fusion Mojo Jojo made a last-ditch effort and retreated through the large tapestry that masked a hidden passageway. Kyle gave chase but found himself hindered by elaborate traps and obstacles blocking his path. The one thing obvious was that the Fusion was now somewhere in another portion of the castle. He only hoped Finn and Numbuh 5 would find him or catch up in time.

Once the nuisances were bypassed or simply destroyed, Kyle found himself in a storage room of the northern tower. He then used his powers to trace the Fusion's footprints; he was climbing to the rooftop. Kyle ran up the spiral staircase and tore down the door. The Fusion had already donned a custom-made jetpack and was in the middle of taking off. Kyle was about to jump off and slice off the thrusters, but he soon heard a gunshot from nearby. To his left, he saw Numbuh 5 and Finn atop the eastern tower. Finn had already leaped forward and lunged toward the falling Fusion. Gaining momentum, he stabbed the Fusion in the chest and used his body to cushion the fall upon the audience chamber's rooftop. Kyle jumped down to meet with Finn while Numbuh 5 took the long way through the castle's corridors. By the time she arrived, Kyle, now back to normal, had finished synthesizing a Mojo Jojo Nano from the remains. He was briefly explaining the concept to an amazed Finn.

"Man, that's awesome!" Finn exclaimed. "And you have more these things?"

Kyle nodded. "Actually, you're the one who deserves this for killing him. Do you really want this one?"

"Eh... He looks kinda weird. I think I'll look for an awesomer-looking one."

"Suit yourself."

"You guys all right?" Numbuh 5 asked.

"We're fine. The only thing left is to take care of the Sickle Simians still inside the castle."

"Don't worry about that. We'll have teams sweeping this place soon. Let's just get out of here."

* * *

><p>"Haha! Take that!"<p>

"Hey! Not fair! You're definitely cheating!"

"Don't hate the player! Hate the game!"

"C'mon, guys. That line is way too overused..."

"Says the guy who constantly makes lame jokes..."

"I'm totally funny!"

"Who even invited this guy to our server anyway?"

"What? I thought you invited him?"

"This was a public match, remember? And it doesn't matter anyway, we totally kicked his butt!"

"I refuse to accept defeat! I demand a rematch with no cheats."

"Listen, newbie. None of us cheated. If you can't accept that-... And he's gone..."

"Good riddance. That laugh from when he managed to take somebody out was creepy and annoying."

"Could've been worse. At least it wasn't one of those guys who throw a huge tantrum over losing to us..."


	48. Sore Loser

**Chapter 48 - Sore Loser**

**Author Notes:**

- I think I portrayed Jinn as a homosexual rather than a psychotic troll...

* * *

><p>Kyle sat in his living room watching television. It was the afternoon of the next day. He had previously escorted an excited Finn to the SCAMPER attendant at City Station Tower. The boy seemed disappointed Kyle wouldn't accompany him, but Kyle saw no real need to go anyway. He at least promised to help out if he got word that things were going awry.<p>

A few minutes had passed when Kyle's Nanocom received a call. Kyle immediately recognized Mandark's voice at the other end.

"I've heard stuff about you and judging by who I've observed you working with, you seem like a trustworthy boy who can help me..."

"What do you want?"

"Morbucks Towers. I need to make use of the still-in-construction buildings' elevation for these special transmitters I've invented. I would use any nearby skyscraper here in Tech Square or City Station Tower, but no one's willing to grant me a permit."

"What'll I get out of this?"

"I hold master access to the Great Machine. Deny my request and your Nanos will be rendered unusable."

"...This is blackmail."

"Call it what you will. A Mandroid will be awaiting with my transmitters. And make sure this task is completed by the end of the day."

Kyle grudgingly hanged up and grabbed his Nanocom off the kitchen counter. He promptly exited the building, headed to the southern district of Townsville.

Morbucks Towers was the nickname for the district that was still under development. It had been purchased by the extremely wealthy Morbucks family and immediately gained its nickname though the name itself was technically a business development project to create four identical skyscrapers. The framework for only two of the towers had been finished before the invasion began and turned the main construction lot into an Infected Zone. The other main construction project was the shopping plaza occupying the northern lot. Barely anything had been started other than the foundation. It was basically an empty dirt field with aggressive monsters roaming about.

Kyle crossed the southern bridge over the town's river and found himself already surrounded by empty or partially developed lots. Directly ahead were the Infected Zone borders. He circled around to the north end where he found the robot Mandark had spoken of. It seemed to be in the middle of an argument with the Dexbot portal attendant. Kyle felt a little silly having to break up a fight between robots, but he would get nowhere if he didn't try.

"My sincerest apologies for allowing you to witness that little quarrel." the Dexbot said politely.

"Stop acting innocent." the Mandroid said in a more casual but rude tone. "Anyway, sir, here are the transmitters that master entrusted you with. The first is to be placed a few feet in front of the entrance. The other two are each to be placed atop each tower."

"I have no idea what Mandark is trying to do," the Dexbot announced, "but you can bet my processors Dexter will find out about this."

"Master has already informed him about this plan." the Mandroid replied. It then looked towards Kyle. "Go now. You're wasting valuable time."

Kyle grabbed the transmitters from the Mandroid's storage compartment inside its chest and headed inside. The lot had been divided into northern and southern ends due to the large trench that was dug to begin construction of a large water pipe. The towers stood within close proximity to each other. Giant terrafusers rested atop each one and secreted acidic Fusion Matter right down the center to form bubbling pools at the bottom. Elevators were out of order or still incomplete so ziplines were the primary method of descending the structures.

Kyle placed the first transmitter exactly where the Mandroid had instructed him. He had two options of progressing now. He could've trekked across the empty space intended for the third tower and fight his way through Fusion bulldozers. Or he could've made his way across on floating platforms over a deep foundation for the fourth tower. Feeling the latter to be less difficult, Kyle headed right. The floating boards supported his weight, but they were quite narrow to maintain balance so he limited his speed. Once safely across, he headed up a nearby zipline that lead to the western tower's second floor. From here Kyle made his way upward using the metal ladders. The framework was only partially finished so Kyle only had to climb about seven stories.

Kyle placed the second transmitter behind a stack of crates so that it was hidden from the terrafuser and any possible monster that might emerge from it. Kyle easily headed to the next tower using the nearby zipline and placed the final transmitter in the same manner as before. Now finished with his current objective, he contacted Mandark for hopefully his last one.

"I've got the transmitters set up. Now what?"

"Wait there for a moment. I'm activating them now."

Kyle observed the transmitter next to him glowing and making a light noise. He saw the other two were reacting the same way.

"What exactly are these supposed to do?" Kyle asked.

"...It's not working!"

"Wh-?"

"Something's blocking the signal! Hold on! I'll trace it!"

Kyle could overheard Mandark furiously typing commands into his keyboard.

"Got it! Underground...! That means we have a Fusion portal..."

"If I take care of him, am I free to go?"

"Yes, yes. Just make sure you destroy whatever's causing the interference. The portal should be down below near the base of the towers."

Kyle descended the tower till he was on the second floor again. He scanned ground below for anything that resembled a Fusion portal. He soon found it hidden between an unturned bulldozer and a large pile of canisters.

Inside Kyle found himself in a narrow cavern with only one way forward. He hid behind a large rock and peered into the next chamber. To his surprise, he found two Mandroids patrolling preset routes. They seemed to be acting perfectly normal for being robots, but the fact they were here seemed odd. Kyle decided to contact Mandark again. He kept the communication link to be text-only to prevent the Mandroids from hearing him, but he still allowed the holographic visual so Mandark could get a clear view of what was happening.

"What are my Mandroids doing here? I gave them no authorization to leave their designated posts!"

"Well, they're here. Any ideas why?"

"...Grrr! Somebody must've taken and reprogrammed them into being his servants!" A long silence followed. "Augh! I know I'm going to regret this later... Take them out. _**ALL**_ of them. Make sure none of them escape! Their weak point is is the small radiation core installed into the back of their visuals monitors, aka: the back of their heads. Tell Dexter or anyone else about that last part and you're dead!"

Kyle drew his rifle and carefully aimed at a distance. He easily struck down the Mandroids with precision. The shots only caused them to short-circuit and fall apart so the result wasn't too suspicious for those in other chambers. Kyle continued advancing, eliminating all operable Mandroids, he finally reached an underground laboratory and control room similar to that of Fusion Edd's former lair. Firmly having his eyes glued to the computer screen was Fusion Mandark, decrypting seemingly random data.

Stealth didn't seem to matter now as the sound of Kyle's stepping onto the metal floor alerted the Fusion of his presence. Fusion Mandark seemed unprepared for a surprise encounter. At first, he jumped back in shock and searched for a weapon in a panic. He grabbed a medium-sized handgun from a nearby table and pointed it at Kyle.

"Why are you here! Nothing should've tipped you off about my lair!"

"Let's just say your 'brother' had other plans for this area..."

"Augh! Not now! I need more time! Guards!"

Fusion Mandark furiously stomped his feet as he continuously called for his hacked Mandroids to come to his aid.

"Where are they?"

"Took care of 'em..."

"How could you-... That's it!"

Fusion Mandark began wildly firing in Kyle's general direction. Kyle ducked behind a processor and retaliated with his own shots. The Fusion was obviously not created with the intention of fighting as he barely moved and suffered a number of direct hits to the chest. He fell back and desperately attempted to crawl to the computer but dissolved into Fusion Matter halfway there. Kyle approached the remains and created a Nano of Mandark himself. He then turned his attention to the data files the Fusion had been working with. He called Mandark again to verify what exactly it was.

"Hmm... It looks extraterrestrial stuff." Mandark deduced. "I'd take it to Ben or something. I have no use for data like that. Anyway, download that stuff onto your Nanocom if you wish and destroy that piece of junk."

Kyle did as he said. In a few minutes, his Nanocom finished downloading all the needed files. Kyle fired his rifle directly at the control console, destroying it through short-circuiting. He quickly exited the lair and headed back outside the Infected Zone where the Mandroid from before was waiting.

"Mandark sends his gratitude." it informed Kyle.

"What exactly are those transmitters supposed to do?"

"Master has taken an interest in Sumo Slammers Online. He previously encountered a player going by the name, 'Omnitrixer', and was bested by him. Master suspects him of cheating. These transmitters are supposed to intercept Omnitrixer's signal and make things fair."

"_He's going this far just because he lost?_"

"I know I'm going against my default programming by saying this, but I will admit Master can be somewhat of a sore loser when it comes to gaming..."

* * *

><p>The full moon loomed over the Pimpleback Mountains this night. A majority of the Plumbers stationed here had already gone to sleep except the ones on nightwatch duty. The only cabin still illuminated was Gwen's though barely. Under a small reading lamp, she was still intently studying the Book of Prophecy and its contents, hoping to find any possible clue to begin decoding its unknown language. She had made numerous notes after going through about a fifth of the book, but none proved beneficial.<p>

"Ugh... What would I give for this book to at least use a language I know like runes..."

Unknown to her, Gwen's remark seemed to trigger something within the Book. Within the dividing line between the two sides, Gwen suddenly noticed a faint purple glow. She carefully lifted the book to find the light coming from the spine. She quickly closed the book and held it to its side for a better look.

Just like she asked for, a sentence written in the magical runic language had appeared vertically down the spine. It was a more ancient form than what Gwen had learned, but she was able to at least get a general idea of it meant. It had to do with "totems" and a "journey" though two of the symbols were definitely certain to Gwen.

"Chosen One..."

Gwen pondered those words for a moment and then reached for her phone. She called someone on her speed-dial list and waited for a response.

"...Grandpa? It's me. Do you still have connections to that woman in Orchid Bay?"

"You mean Jasmine?" Max replied. "Well sure. I speak to her occasionally when the situation calls for it, but what do you need her for?"

"I have to ask her about this text I found. My knowledge of runes isn't large enough to translate this."

"I see... Alright. I'll send someone over to temporarily replace you. You can head on over to Orchid Bay once he arrives."

"Thanks, Grandpa."

Gwen hung up and began dialing a different number. It took a few rings, but the recipient answered before the answering machine kicked in.

"Hey, Gwen." Ben answered. "Sorry about that. There were only a few seconds left in the match and I was totally kicking this guy's butt!"

"Yeah, yeah. I know you've been addicted to Sumo Slammers Online for a while now. Listen, do you think you can met up with me in Orchid Bay tomorrow?"

"Orchid Bay? Yeah, I think I can blow off target practice."

"Oh, then nevermind. I don't want to-."

"No! I'm coming! I need to blow off some steam anyway. Still frustrated over this guy calling me a cheater when he clearly lost to my abilities..."

"Oh please don't tell me the other guys weren't involved..."

"Too late. Don't worry though. I didn't tell then to go trace his IP address or anything."

"Honestly, sometimes you guys go way too far... Anyway, I'm gonna try to get Kyle to come along."

"Why? Are we going someplace dangerous?"

"No. I just needed someone extra to come along in case he can't make it."

"Oh, alright. I'll see you tomorro-er... Oh wait, it's past midnight... Hehe... Must've gotten carried away again..."

"Good night."

Gwen ended the call and leaned back in her chair to stretch. She couldn't recall the last time she stood up, having been glued to the Book's text all day. It was time to get some rest as well. Normally she wouldn't use her magic to clean up, but her sheer drowsiness and possibly the influence of spending too much time with her cousin made do so otherwise. Gwen packed the Book of Prophecy inside a small backpack and placed it beside her bed before going to sleep. She fell into a deep slumber not long after.

* * *

><p>Kyle had returned home not long after finishing, what he considered, Mandark's ridiculous request. Later that night, he was sitting on the rooftop, gazing at the stars and trying to make out the current constellation.<p>

"Gnome." he muttered. "That hold any meaning to you?"

"Nothing in particular." Riyos replied. "If I am correct, the leaves will soon begin to change colors soon."

"Wither and die..."

"And be reborn anew."

"...Ugh, this cheesy poetic stuff is really embarrassing..."

"It is not that bad. I...find it to be quite entertaining..."

"Never thought I'd hear a demon say something like that."

"I said I have a liking towards it. I don't practice it."

"Alright, alright..."

Kyle stood up and was about head back to his room. When he turned, he was surprised by what he saw. Jinn stood before him, blocking the only rooftop entrance to the building. The being's slanted eyes carried a mischievous vibe.

"So this is where you live." he remarked in an amused tone.

Kyle took a step back with his hand behind him in case he needed a weapon to defend himself.

"Now, now. I'm not here to hurt you. I just wanted to get a nice look at you... Hmhmhm... Not quite what I expected, but it'll have to do."

"Who are you?" Kyle asked. This person definitely seemed like an alien to him, but something was extremely different about him than the others he'd seen; Kyle could feel it.

"Me? My people personally don't care for names. We instantly know when one is spoken to. But if you desire one, then I guess you can call me Jinn. I believe that's how I introduced myself to that blonde fellow in that dark mountainous region. Thought I'll admit I wasn't very creative when I made it up out of my species' name..."

"What...are you?"

"You ask too many questions..."

"I only asked two!"

"But I hate giving explanations... Sigh, fine. I'm a Naljian, a species which lives on a higher plane of existence from yours. I won't explain any further than that. Please try not to take offense, but your inferior human mind cannot possibly comprehend our way of life if I explained or showed it to you."

"Then at least tell me why you're here."

Jinn gave a faint laugh. "Call me...'unique' from the rest of my people. Personally, we don't care for the survival of other races as we can instantly restore them if we wished. But I thought otherwise. I couldn't possibly continue existing with the knowledge that this planet could be wiped out and absorbed by Planet Fusion! I escaped the confinements of my homeworld and began observing your progress."

"Why not help out then?"

"Oh, I'd love to! I could even transport the Planet light years away and destroy it with the blink of an eye! But violating my people's code of conduct has stripped me a majority of my powers. Honestly, vision in just three dimensions now just isn't as exciting as twenty-six...but that's what makes this whole thing even more fun! Anyway, the most I can do is assist taking care of your little monster problems~.

"Okay... And why this planet? There were tons of other planets absorbed by Fuse. Why risk weakening yourself for our sake?"

"You don't get it? Humanity should've been destroyed ages ago! But you've been continuing to defy even _our_ calculations! You're a bunch of persistent little bugs, aren't you~? That's why I find you so interesting! I can't possibly let something I don't understand go dying on me!"

"Now why tell this to me?"

"Oh, that. I just sensed a powerful energy inside of you, different from most of the people I've observed. Which reminds me... Your redheaded friend will be coming tomorrow. Better get some rest~!"

Jinn disappeared before Kyle's eyes instantly, leaving no trace of himself behind. Kyle stood in the same position, contemplating what he just heard.

"That guy was weird..."

"I think it would be best to avoid provoking him." Riyos suggested. "I am actually surprised he managed to keep a straight face throughout that conversation. I could feel that his energy was nearly depleted. Had he been normal, he should have dropped to the ground in exhaustion..."


	49. Prophecy

**Chapter 49 - Prophecy**

**Author Notes:**

- Yeah...Ben 10 canon in this story will stop at Ultimate Alien. I have nothing against the plot of Omniverse, but that art design change (for the main cast anyway) looks downright awful IMO

- This entire chapter was originally supposed to be uploaded in Spanish as an April Fools joke, but I didn't have enough time to translate

* * *

><p>Midday had come as Gwen arrived at Orchid Bay's wharf. She proceeded towards an empty pier where she had set up the meeting point. Gwen had previously heard about the ice palace washing ashore on Bravo Beach and hoped to catch a glimpse of it from Orchid Bay. The distance greatly hindered Gwen's view of the structure, but she was at least able to make out its shape.<p>

"So that thing's from Finn's world, huh?..."

Gwen turned her head and gazed out to sea. Having spent a considerable amount of time in the mountains, this sight of the ocean was a fresh and enjoyable experience for her. Her peace was interrupted when a sudden shock soon came to her. She had felt a hand place itself upon her shoulder. She immediately turned around and formed a bonding ring of mana around the person. It was too late for her to realize that person was Ben. Kyle was also standing behind him, surprised at what Gwen had just done.

"Uh, Gwen? Not exactly the greeting I was looking for..."

Embarrassed, Gwen quickly freed Ben. "Sorry... Spending time alone in a dark place surrounded by monsters for a while does that you..."

"No big. Anyway, I thought I'd stop by Kyle's place and pick him up."

"To show off your car, no doubt." she teased.

"Well... Alright, you got me, but we're still here. Where we heading?"

"You'll see."

Gwen took the lead and the group headed to the northeastern part of the city. Not wanting to draw attention, Gwen made Ben refrain from using his Ultimatrix. A bright green light accompanied by shouting a strange name and sounds of violent struggles would surely draw in nearby **SACT** agents. Kyle let him borrow his rifle while he used his sword to fend off any aggressive monsters.

After fighting their way through infested courtyards and walking up sloped terrain, the group arrived at a residential district. Gwen then led the boys to a house that stood upon a hill bordered by an iron fence. The house was very different from the rest of the neighborhood. It was a simple purple color, but the design was clearly of an older time period. If it were nighttime, this place would surely make someone feel unwelcome.

"Here we are."

Ben stood there disappointed, recognizing this house and realizing part of Gwen's intention for bringing him along. "Aw c'mon, Gwen... Are you really making me do this?"

"Let's go, Ben." she said in a serious tone, dragging her cousin by his jacket collar to the doorstep.

Kyle silently followed, confused about what suddenly came over these two. He stood behind them as Gwen rang the doorbell. In a few seconds, a large elderly woman in a purple and red dress answered. Nothing seemed particularly odd about her besides the pure white streak in her gray hair. She smiled upon seeing Gwen like she had just met a friend she hadn't spoken to in ages.

"Oh, Gwendolyn!" Her eyes then shifted to a look of annoyance when she turned to Ben. "Benjamin..."

"Hey, Ms Lee..." Ben said hesitantly. He tried to back away, but Gwen quickly nudged him closer. "Sorry about...tearing down your house..."

"You're just lucky I had a spare amulet to undo the damage in time..."

"In my defense, I was only ten and June was the one who attacked me first..."

"Yeah, like transforming into giant, intimidating aliens right before my granddaughter's eyes _wouldn't_ provoke her..."

"I'm extremely sorry it took this long to get an apology directly from Ben." Gwen told her. "How is June?"

"Oh, she's not here right now. She and Monroe went off to investigate some strange magical occurrence in the desert. I don't know when they'll be back so it's just me and a few...interesting visits from Ray Ray once in a while."

"I see... Well, may we come in? There's something we need you to look at."

"Certainly, but...make sure your cousin doesn't break anything..."

Jasmine courteously showed the group inside. Kyle introduced himself once he was through the front door. Jasmine gave him a strange look at first, but it soon changed to a welcoming one as if the former never came to fruition. She then lead the group into her library. The shelves filled with ancient books and scrolls of all kinds. Any open space was occupied by a prized, ancient antique of sorts. Jasmine cleared a desk of its contents as Gwen seated herself and placed the Book of Prophecy in front of her.

"This is-!"

"Yes. The Book of Prophecy..."

"How in the world did you manage to acquire it? It's supposed to be guarded by the Underworld."

"You can ask Ben or Kyle about where they first saw the Book. As for how we got it, Kyle retrieved it from a girl named May in Mount Blackhead. I'd like to know where she got it too..."

"Oh, those creepy stalker chicks from Peach Creek?" Ben asked.

"Yes, and don't go pranking them with Eddy again, got it?"

"So why are you showing me this?" Jasmine asked.

Gwen held the spine of the book to Jasmine's eyes. "These runes suddenly appeared last night when I was studying the Book. I couldn't translate much of it so I needed help. I remembered that you dealt with the magical realm on a daily basis so I thought you would be a great help."

"I'm honored," she said as she took the book from Gwen's hands, "but I doubt a passage this small will provide much information... Just give a moment. My fluency in this language is a little rusty."

Jasmine pulled up a chair as she sat down and began reading the inscriptions. Gwen stood beside her waiting for a response. While they were waiting, Kyle and Ben examined some of the strange artifacts lying across the opposite table. Noticing Jasmine's careful watch over them, Kyle was wary of accidentally disturbing the objects and stopped Ben from doing so as well.

"These runes don't offer much insight." Jasmine soon revealed.

"What do they say?"

"_Venture within the forgotten cavern of crystal where the first of the totems await. There, the Chosen One's journey begins..._ That's all there is."

"How can we find something that's forgotten?" Ben questioned. "There's probably tons of places like that."

"I think I know." Gwen answered. "The crystal mines in the Pimpleback Mountains. The story is that an explorer accidentally stumbled into a hole while climbing the mountains. There he discovered the vast quantity of crystals. The story goes on to say he barely made it out alive since there was no man-made exit, or he just didn't find it, and the hole where he fell was impossible to climb up to without the proper equipment. If the runes appeared in that area, then we should probably begin our search there."

"Wow. That was...easy..."

* * *

><p>"Did you really have to come along, Ben?"<p>

Gwen had taken Kyle back to the Pimpleback Mountains to assist in investigating the Book of Prophecy's strange message. They were already inside the Infected Zone and walking down the entrance corridor that lead to the mine's elevator. Gwen hadn't intended for Ben to join them, but the boy had already boarded the **SCAMPER** before she could do anything about it.

"I just want to see what this 'Chosen One' business is all about." he told her. "It's not everyday you get to see someone learning about it!"

"Sigh...fine, but Kevin's so gonna kill you..."

"Yeah, I think I figured that out when he took my car from the parking lot."

"Wait, how do you-"

"Borrowed a surveillance camera and tracking device from Dex. I was wondering why I suddenly found a driving ticket in my glove compartment... Mom and Dad weren't too happy about that..."

The group rode the elevator and soon came to the central mining area. Gwen retrieved the Book of Prophecy from her bag to see if anything had changed. She noticed the runes on the spine were now glowing much brighter than before. Other than that, there wasn't much indication of where to go. Gwen would just have to search the entire mine until the runes hopefully glowed brighter.

"Should we split up?" Ben asked.

"One of us would need the Book." Gwen replied.

"But what was it that we need to find? A 'totem', right? That should stand out in a place like this."

"There could still be enchantments placed to prevent others from finding it without some sort of key, and this book is probably it."

Gwen used her powers to create a personal elevator of mana for herself. She told the boys to wait for her as she ascended to the top. She came down a few minutes later to inform them nothing had revealed itself. That only left the mostly unexplored depths of the caves.

Ben took the lead while Kyle covered the rear. They both had flashlights as they anticipated pitch black darkness in these caves, but there were still small deposits of shining crystal embedded into the walls to light the way. Gwen was looking into the Book of Prophecy as they walked. She assumed that more clues would appear somewhere inside its pages when they came within the vicinity of the totem. Nothing changed after a quarter hour of walking though.

"You know your way around here, right Gwen?" Ben asked.

"I studied the maps, but I've never ventured this far before. Only Len and some of the Plumber investigation teams have gone this far. Don't worry though. I can just teleport us out if things get rough for us."

"But you know how much that does to you..."

"I'll be fine, Ben."

The group soon stumbled upon numerous branching tunnels, some naturally formed and some manmade. At most, Kyle and Ben were sent forward to scout and report their findings upon returning. They were mostly dead ends and more branching tunnels, the latter of which they marked on a map in case they needed to come back later. As they continued walking, the amount of crystal lining the walls soon decreased in number. They were clearly no longer headed in the right direction as the runes' glow diminished with each step.

"Ugh, don't tell me we passed it." Ben moaned.

"There were plenty of other paths we had to skip." Gwen replied. "Let's just head back." She turned to Kyle who was holding the map. She pointed to their current position and when the main crystal deposit was located. "Draw a circle around the main chamber based on where we are. Warn us if we get closer to an edge. Assuming the crystals are evenly spread out, the totem should be somewhere inside this circle."

Gwen turned back the way they had came as Ben ran forward to take the lead again. As they approached a branding tunnel halfway to the center, the ceiling suddenly caved it without explanation. Gwen was able to push Ben and herself away from the falling debris and avoid being crushed, but now they were separated from Kyle who was luckily not standing in any danger zone.

"Are you guys okay!" he called out.

"We fine!" Gwen shouted back. "Don't worry! I can just move these rocks out of the way!"

"Oh, I don't think so~" a voice told her.

The sound of a loaded pistol was heard as the gun was firmly pressed against the back of Kyle's head. Kyle wanted to turn his head to get a glimpse of his attacker, but an unknown force was keeping his head faced forward. Ben and Gwen's vision was obscured by the large boulders and dust cloud, but they were able to get a glimpse through a tiny opening. They were surprised to see nobody holding the gun. It was floating by itself...or the assailant was invisible or using special powers.

"Where are you!" Ben shouted.

"Oh, quit your yapping." the voice answered. "I've don't intend to shoot unless you make any sudden movement~."

Jinn stepped (or rather hovered) forward from the stable tunnel just to the left of Kyle. It was mostly impossible to read him as his anatomy lacked facial expression aside from his eyes, but Kyle could tell he was smiling on the inside.

"You're coming with me." he told Kyle.

"And where do you think you going with him?" Ben asked as he was about to transform into on of his aliens.

Jinn's laugh stopped him. "I wouldn't do that~ Transform into an alien now and the rest of that tunnel will collapse on top of you. Isn't rigging traps great!"

Ben slowly backed down, clearly out of options.

"While we're at it, I'll bring this along~!"

Jinn held the Book of Prophecy in his hand. The shocked Gwen looked at her hand to find it had vanished. She swore she held it seconds ago, distinctly remembering falling on top of it when she pushed Ben away from the falling boulders. She assumed Jinn had used some method to paralyze her awareness.

"Don't worry. I'll give it back! You two stay there while I take my dear friend on a small trip!"

The invisible force controlling the pistol pressed harder, indicating Kyle to start walking. Kyle tried looking back to his friends, but the sound of the gun's trigger being pulled immediately made him stop and shut his eyes tightly.

There was no shot. The chamber was empty. Relieved and assuming the gun was a fake threat, Kyle was about to draw a weapon Jinn stopped him.

"There is a bullet in there, y'know. Though you'll have to guess which one~ Call it my own twist on Russian Roulette!"

Kyle restrained himself and continued obey Jinn's commands. They walked a considerable distance until they reached a medium-sized chamber where a set of mine car tracks had ended. Jinn directed Kyle to step back as he approached the wall. Without hesitation, he punched it with enough force to make it fall apart, revealing a hidden tunnel.

"Shall we?"

Kyle continued walking forward as he felt the gun lower from his head. He wanted to attack now, but Jinn's abilities seemed to outclass even his. He wouldn't stand a chance and using his powers would possibly endanger Ben and Gwen.

They soon entered a small chamber heavily abundant with crystal. It was like the entire wall was composed of them. Standing in the center was a spire made out of a strange, tan stone. Inscribed on all four sides was a column of six drawings depicting strange, and yet surprisingly familiar, figures. The gun pressed forward before Kyle could further examine the chamber and forced him to move closer.

Jinn levitated the pistol away and repositioned it to point at Kyle a few feet in front of him. The alien came forward and gestured for Kyle to take the Book.

"Take it." he commanded.

"Why are you doing this? You went through all of that too show me the totem?"

"I did to ensure those two didn't interfere. I couldn't risk an accidental transfer..."

"Transfer?"

"Touch the totem and see for yourself." He then readjusted the gun's position. "This barrel is loaded." he said with a completely serious look in his eyes.

Kyle grudgingly stepped forward and placed his plan upon one of the totem's carvings. Almost immediately, the Book's runes responded by radiating a blinding light. Kyle attempted to shield his eyes but found that his hand wouldn't release from the totem. The light quickly subsided as the totem glowed with a soft, greenish blue aura. Kyle suddenly felt a massive amount of energy being drained from his body at an astonishing rate. The amount was enough to make him cry out in pain as he slumped to his knees. He could barely moved his body now as he desperately tried to free himself.

"What was that fool thinking!" Riyos exclaimed in this head. "I apologize for this...Kyle..."

Kyle's shadow took life and enveloped his body, allowing Riyos to assert dominant control. He allowed the totem to drain the remaining energy it originally needed from Kyle from his own. It took almost half of his and a majority of Kyle's when it finally stopped. Once charged, the totem let out a short energy burst which sent Kyle's body hurling back. Riyos, still in control, calmly stood up and faced Jinn with Kyle's sword drawn.

"What are you trying to accomplish?"

"Me?" Jinn asked pretending to look innocent. "I'm only following what the Book said!"

"An energy drain of that caliber is more than enough to kill this boy. Even you would know that..."

"Yes, but even if he died, the totem would've gone right to you for the remaining energy. In retrospect, I would've technically freed you. By stepping in, are you implying that you actually..._care_ for his well being?"

"..."

"Well, whatever. I've done my part." Jinn tossed the Book of Prophecy to Riyos who easily caught it. "I hope I get to see more of you in the future!"

Jinn disappeared in a surge of whatever composed his body. Riyos looked towards the totem which was now glowing with a red aura. He hesitantly touched the surface to find no reaction. He then held up the Book of Prophecy to see it was back to normal. Opening it for a quick glance of the pages still didn't reveal anything readable.

As Riyos closed the Book and turned to leave, Ben and Gwen came rushing inside having escaped Jinn's trap. They looked at each other in silence before Gwen finally broke it.

"K-Kyle?"

"He is...not aware of himself right now." Riyos replied.

"So you're the guy who curbstomped Fusion Him back in Endsville?" Ben asked.

"If I am understanding that term correctly...then yes."

"What happened here?"

"That...bizarre alien forced Kyle to activate this totem. It would have killed him had I not intervened... It will be a while before he can regain enough strength to properly assert control from me again... If I leave now, he will surely die..."

"But the good thing is that he's safe, right?" Gwen asked. "Let's just get...Kyle's body back to a cabin so he can properly rest."

"Lead the way."

Riyos returned the Book of Prophecy to Gwen as he began following her to the mine's exit. Along the way, he was quick to take notice of Ben casting occasional glances at him. The first few were interpreted as simple curiosity, but the rest were just annoying to him.

"Is something bothering you?"

"No...it's nothing... It just feels...weird seeing 'Kyle' like a different person for this long. I thought he only saved...you for when things get rough for him..."

"I understand... Believe me, the boy does try to conquer obstacles with his own strength or at least with minimal influence of my power."

"If you don't mind me asking...what exactly are you? An alien, magical creature, or what?"

"...You should ask your cousin. She obviously knows what I am already."

"Gwen?"

"...Just be glad Kyle didn't end up with one intending to permanently take over his body." she replied plainly.

"Okay..."

"If you do not mind," Riyos said, "could I request that we take a short detour to the chamber where most of the infection resides? There is something I would like to investigate..."


	50. Awakening

**Chapter 50 - Awakening**

**Author Notes:**

**- **random plumbers named after John Dilworth, David Wasson, and Maxwell Atoms**  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Kyle slowly awoke within a dark cabin. He felt weak, but he was to at least move around with mild aches in his body. Slightly dazed, he sat up to find himself alone. Across the room was a table with various medical supplies, mostly uncorked bottles containing strange liquids, scattered around it. It took a moment for him to notice, but Kyle felt the room's temperature within freezing levels. He quickly ducked under his blankets though it wasn't enough to stop the shivering. A quick glance outside the nearby window didn't indicate any cold weather occurring. Kyle thought he was suffering from a fever at first, but feeling his forehead told him he was perfectly fine.<p>

"You are awake..." Riyos stated.

"Wh-Wh... Why is it s-s-so c-c-...cold? Ugh... H-How long have I b-b-been out?"

"You can speak mentally, you know? And approximately one week. As for this freezing temperature, you should ask that Anodite friend of yours. She should be checking up on you in the morning."

"What time is it?" Kyle shifted his head to an alarm clock resting on the nightstand. "Three in the morning?"

"You should return to sleep. Your body will never recover without proper rest."

"I'll try... But this temperature is ridiculous!"

"I could force sleep if you desire."

"No thanks..."

* * *

><p><em>Six days ago<em>

"Holy cow! What's going on with him!"

Ben slowly backed away from the comatose Kyle who was lying upon a makeshift bed. A strange wind, seemingly out of nowhere, was enveloping his body as the temperature around him began to lower at a progressive and alarming rate. Gwen attempted to form a mana shield around Kyle to contain this strange force, but it only seemed to do more bad than good. It was not long before Kyle's shadow took life again as Riyos asserted control of his body. Judging by his expression and his heavy breathing, it seemed difficult for even him to maintain his presence.

"What's happening to him?" Gwen asked.

"I believe that totem awakened the boy's latent magical abilities..."

"Wait, so Kyle's can use magic?" Ben asked.

"Yes. The boy has always possessed these abilities, but they were dormant. They were never intended to be awakened this prematurely..."

"Is there anything we can do? I mean, I'm no expert on magic, but I'll in any way possible..."

"I doubt it. You simply have to allow his body to naturally adjust to these powers. I would suggest keeping a minimum amount of people from coming within close proximity. Prematurely awakened magic can produce unpredictable effects. Unless properly protected, I would not recommend approaching him until he has awakened."

"I hope it isn't for long..."

"I will attempt to suppress the effects if they get out of hand. You two should get out of here for now. A sudden burst will come forth once I let go of my hold..."

Gwen nodded and instructed her cousin to follow. Ben stared at Riyos for a few more seconds before finally leaving. Once outside and a few meters from the cabin, the two felt a short but powerful gust brush past them. Had they been unprepared, they would have been pushed to the ground. Gwen stepped forward but was stopped by Ben grabbing her arm and shaking his head in disapproval.

Back inside, Riyos clutched himself in pain as he tried to lay Kyle's body to rest. Closing his eyes, he returned to Kyle's subconscious.

* * *

><p><em>Present<em>

"Well you look better." Gwen remarked.

Kyle awoke from the sound of Gwen opening the creaking cabin door. He didn't feel like sitting up so he merely waved his arm to alert Gwen of his awareness.

"Thanks for what you've done to help me... Riyos told me the basics, but what about this freezing air?"

"Oh, that..."

Gwen went on to explain Kyle's awakened powers. During Gwen's previous visits, Riyos had resurfaced to provide more information..

"Seems like you're an adept in ice and wind. Fire and darkness too, but that's only because you share your soul with Riyos."

"I guess I'm just full of surprises... How long'll it be before I can stop turning any room into a refrigerator?"

"He said you'd be fine once you woke up. C'mon. Let's just get you someplace warmer." Gwen helped Kyle out of bed and gave him a shoulder to support himself. Together they headed outside to find an escort of Plumbers waiting for them. Kyle looked back and saw he had been sleeping in a lone cabin in the forest. "We were told it was possible that your powers could've taken over the entire encampment. We had to move you here to prevent it from becoming an artic wasteland. Don't worry though. You've been heavily protected by these guys since then."

One of the Plumbers stepped forward and offered to take Kyle from her hands. Gwen was slightly reluctant, but granted permission. The Plumber allowed to Kyle to piggyback the rest of the way. It was slightly uncomfortable with some of his gadgets poking him, but Kyle tolerated it.

Once back at the encampment after a short walk, Kyle was laid to rest in Gwen's cabin. Slightly embarrassed about this fact, Kyle tried to turn it down, but Gwen was insistent.

"It's fine, really! Oh! I almost forgot!" Gwen retrieved Kyle's Nanocom from her pocket and reattached it to his wrist. "Sorry about taking it, but Dexter wanted us to make sure it was in a safe place."

"Dexter knows?"

"You got a call from him about four days ago. By the time we found out who it was, it was too late to make up a convincing excuse."

"What did he want?"

"He wanted you to investigate some abnormal readings he picked up. Once I told him what happened, he just said to call back once you were better."

"I wonder..."

"Mind if I ask you something?"

"Sure. Shoot."

"Did you ask for this?"

"...What?"

"Why are you fighting? Everyone I've met who's fighting in this war is doing it because he belongs to some kind of organization or comes from a trained background. But you... You're just some random kid."

"Well, I was kinda forced to..."

"Yeah, the future timeline and stuff, but after that... You could've went back to a...semi-normal life."

"I just needed something to do..."

"That's not a very good reason..."

"Then maybe... I don't know... It's the only thing that's allowed me to meet tons of new people and make new friends... Before that day, I barely spoke to anyone besides my mom."

"Mom? What about-?"

"My dad? Died before I was born... Not even Mom will tell me what happened to him. I don't know my grandparents either, or even if they're still alive, so they obviously won't tell me..."

"I'm sorry. I should've been more considerate..."

"It's alright. My dad never bothered me that much anyway. I've always asked myself if I got my hair and eye color from him. I used to convince myself it was just a birth defect and I still say that when people question it, but now I'm not so sure. Was he ridiculed as a kid for it? Was he able embrace it? I guess I'll never know."

"I'm sure he'd just be proud that you are who you are."

"Thanks... Hey, weren't we talking about why I'm fighting in this war?"

Gwen struggled for a response, embarrassed as well. "Oh! Uh...didn't mean to go off-topic there..."

"...If I went back, I'd just be all alone again. Same boring life. Sure nobody I met in the future would know me now, but I couldn't live with the thought that they could be gone at any moment. I...had to do something..."

"So you joined the fight."

"Well, technically Dexter was the one who asked me to in the first place."

"Dexter?"

"Yeah. Asked me right after explaining my story. Something wrong with that?"

"N-No... It's nothing... It just seemed weird for him of all people to actually recruit someone like you...no offense."

"None taken... So...what have I missed?"

"...Fusion activity's been on the rise lately. Ben wanted to stay longer so he could at least see you were actually okay, but the infestation levels were getting higher in Nebula so he had to bail."

"Any other people call besides Dexter?"

"There was another, but the number was unregistered and listed as unknown. I didn't bother picking that up. It seemed suspicious."

"_I wonder who it was?_"

"Anyway, Riyos said that your body has advanced natural healing qualities thanks to him. You should be fine to move after one more night."

"Okay. I'll see you later then..."

* * *

><p>Night had come as the Plumbers began retiring to their cabins. The increase in Fusion activity had been tiring for them. Even members of the nightwatch who were so extremely dedicated began showing drowsiness during their shifts.<p>

Inside Gwen's cabin, Kyle awoke from a strange sensation in his head. It wasn't painful at first, but it persisted in irritation like a bug buzzing around in his head.

"What's going on?" Kyle asked aloud as he sat up grasping his head. "Ugh... I can't sleep like this... Is this a side effect?"

"No," Riyos answered, "your magic should be fully stabilized by now. This feeling is...completely unrelated..."

"So what? I should just wait until it stops? Ugh...!"

"I believe this is being caused by an outside entity. Perhaps we should investigate?"

Kyle threw off the covers and tried to stand up. It was a little difficult, but he could now maintain himself without support. He approached the window to find the entire encampment consumed by a deep fog. Kyle could barely see past the front porch. The only visible objects were the glow of the lanterns inside the watchtowers. Kyle reconsidered venturing outside in his current state now. It was the perfect weather for someone to sneak up on him now, but his headache was only getting worse.

"Kyle?" Gwen's voice called out. "You're awake?"

Gwen emerged from an adjacent room having heard Kyle's footsteps across the wooden floorboards. She was still dressed in her regular outfit, probably as a result of staying up late again to study the Book of Prophecy. She soon stood by Kyle and looked outside as well.

"That's...odd. There shouldn't be foggy weather tonight... And what are you doing out of bed?"

"My...head started to...I don't how to described it. It's like a buzzing sensation and it's only giving me a headache. Riyos thinks there's something outside causing it."

"Hm... Have a seat for a moment. I'll be right back."

Kyle sat down on the bed as Gwen went to her workspace. She open a side drawer and pulled out a communicator. She then set it to a certain channel and began speaking into the microphone.

"John, come in. Is there any strange activity going on?" Gwen stood still as she waited for a response that never came. "David? Are you reading me?" Gwen checked to make sure she had the correct channel. Sure enough, it was, but she quickly changed it to another one. "Maxwell? Are you there?" No response either. Gwen set down her communicator and walked towards the door. "Something's wrong. I'll go check it out."

"Wait... I'm going with you."

"But you're-"

"It's not like staying here will make my head feel any better..."

"...Sigh. Just run if things get worse, alright?"

Kyle nodded and closely followed Gwen outside. They headed towards the campfire where a member of the nightwatch was supposed to be stationed. As it came into view, they found a lone Plumber was sitting on a log. He had his helmet on, but he seemed to be gazing intently at the campfire.

"Maxwell!" Gwen called out. "What are you doing!"

There was no response. Maxwell remained motionless. Carefully, Gwen approached and tried shaking him, but that didn't work either. Removing his helmet revealed him to be in some sort of trance-like state.

"Where's the Book?" Kyle quickly asked. "He face looks _just_ like Ed!"

"It's locked up. I made sure of it before going to sleep."

"Then how...?"

"Wait, I think someone coming..."

All around them, they could hear a girl softly singing in a strange language. Judging by the increasing volume, the source was getting closer. Gwen turned towards the entrance where the fog suddenly dispersed itself. A lone figure was silently approaching the campfire now. With every step she took, the fog began to close behind her once again. Kyle soon recognized her as the same person who had assisted him in retrieving the Book of Prophecy. Examining her more closely, Kyle noticed she was wearing a necklace. It had a strange, glowing glyph inscribed on it. Whatever properties it contained, it seemed to be the source of the fog.

"Who are you?" Gwen asked as the girl stopped a few feet in front of them.

The girl didn't response as she analyzed her surroundings. Gwen was getting impatient as she raised her hand, powers activated, towards the girl.

"Answer me!"

"I'm not here to hurt you. I just didn't want anyone else to know about my presence."

"You still haven't answer my question..."

"...I'd like that to remain a secret if you don't mind, but you're still free to ask me anything else. I won't guarantee I'll answer it though. And if you still don't trust me, then here..."

The girl tossed a glowing, purple gemstone that hidden in her sleeve. It had a carving of a strange symbol on it. Gwen told Kyle to step back as she carefully picked it up.

"This is...!"

"A binding stone, the most powerful incarnation to be more precise. Use it on me, and I won't be able to escape unless you say the word..."

"How did you even get one of these? The art to create enchanted gemstones of this caliber was lost centuries ago..."

"That's not important. I'm only here for the boy."

"_Me?_" Kyle thought to himself.

"What do you want with him?" Gwen asked.

"I want to ask him something. He is suffering from a headache, isn't he?"

Kyle then stepped forward. He was clutching his head with hand trying to keep himself steady. "What do you know?" he groaned.

"That this shouldn't even be happening to you." She turned her head to Gwen. "I'll require a room for us to spend in private."

"Will you get rid of this fog and release my men from your trance?"

"If you promise me safe passage without anyone seeing me, then certainly."

"...Alright, follow me."

Gwen slipped the binding stone into her pocket and escorted the girl to her cabin. The girl didn't bother removing her cloak once inside. When asked about it, she only replied that her appearance must be kept secret. Gwen was tempted to use the binding stone but eventually felt it to be a waste. Kyle laid down on his side as the girl pulled up a chair and sat beside him.

"How long has this been affected you?"

"When you showed up..."

"So it's true..."

"What's happening to me?"

"I'm sorry. That was my doing. I wanted to test something...and it worked... It'll wear off in a few minutes. You'll just have to bear with it. As for what I came here for... The Book of Prophecy revealed the first part of the network, didn't it?"

"Network?" Gwen repeated. "You mean the runes about the totem in crystal mines?"

"Yes. The totems are part of a vast network meant to be activated by a predetermined person when the time has come. You _are_ the one who activated it, right?"

"More liked forced to..." Kyle answered.

"Either way, one of them was activated. And it's my job to tell you about the rest." As she continued speaking, she occasionally switched eye contact to Gwen so everyone would hear her message. "I'll keep this as short as I can... Back in ancient times when humanity basically lived in numerous scattered tribes, a certain tribal leader experienced an interpretive vision of a great catastrophe. Thinking it would come true in his lifetime, he did the practically impossible by enlisting the aid of the other tribes. Together with their knowledge of mystical arts granted upon them, they created a series of stone totems that only he could activate. Fortunately, or maybe _un_fortunately, the catastrophe never occurred in the chief's lifetime. But one thing was certain, the catastrophe _would_ happen. Before he died, the chief used the last moments of his life to pass on responsibility to his direct descendants. If the vision didn't come true during their lifetime, the inheritance would continue. Thousands of generations later...the time has finally come...and you're the next in line..."

Kyle didn't know how to respond. He remained silent as he tried to process this information. _Why am I always the center of EVERYTHING! _Seeing as how he would require some time, Gwen stepped forward to speak.

"And where does the Book of Prophecy come into this?"

"The Book was also created by the chief just before his passing. Only trusted members of the tribe were able to read its contents. It was how their secrets were passed down and how they would know if the time had come. But unfortunately, time took its toll. The never ending cycle of war and peace dominated the tribes, countless rumors spread, the Book of Prophecy lost its meaning as an artifact of salvation and became an artifact of devastation. Eventually, the Book was stolen by a band of thieves and it soon went through a long chain of exchanges until it ended up in the possession of the Underworld where it was promptly locked away."

"So if only the tribe could read it, then why could we use it?"

"The influence of the Underworld and the attempts to unlock its potential to outsiders had corrupted the Book. It no longer perceives what is good or evil. It will only respond to the desires of whoever possess it in a way it sees fit. But the good thing is that it still recognizes its original owners."

"And that makes you-"

"One of them...yes... Listen, now that the first totem has been activated, I can only interpret this alien invasion as the catastrophe. You'll need to locate the remaining ones and activate them as well."

"But do you know what those things did to him? He could die from just activating the second one!"

"I didn't say you have to do it right away. The totems were designed to harness a tremendous amount of energy. If he can't handle the strain, I'd suggest letting his 'friend' donate a portion of his energy to the effort."

"Sigh... Still, that means we have to send someone to accompany him when Kyle collapses again..."

"I'm sure you know enough trustworthy people that will gladly assist you."

"Yes, but... Sigh, I'll manage somehow. But what about the locations?"

The cloaked girl handed Gwen a handful of ancient scrolls. Gwen unrolled them to see maps of various regions. It was a wonder how they were this preserved despite their extremely old age.

"They're obviously not drawn to scale and some of those places no longer exist now. But with your intellect, I'm sure you can determine their locations."

"I'll do my best."

"Now about our deal. Your soldiers are now aware of themselves and they don't remember a thing. I trust you'll escort me unseen now?"

"Yeah, follow me out the back." Gwen motioned the girl to the backroom. Before exiting, she turned to Kyle. "Kyle, you gonna alright?"

Kyle only nodded.

"There's an electrified gate that prevent monsters from getting inside the encampment. The password to unlock it is 23610."

* * *

><p><em>Earlier<em>

"I know you can hear me..." the girl called out.

"It has been quite some time." Riyos replied plainly. "And you even took the liberty to look Kyle out of being able to hear this conversation... I assume you harbor a desire to eradicate me?"

"...Of course, but that's pretty much impossible to do now without hurt him."

"Yes, I do not see any alternative... Tell me, what has become of my other half?"

"Tch! Wouldn't you like to know? He's still alive, but he can't do anything right now, not with the seal still up..."

"So you trapped me..."

"Can't erase you if you're not whole."

"And may I ask what atrocities I, or rather he, committed?"

The girl remained silent, struggling to answer. "...mass genocide..."

"To what extent?"

"..."

"I see.."

"Look, I just want to know what you're planning. After he becomes useless to you..."

"I...I can honestly say I am not scheming anything... Even if I did take advantage of the boy, I would be clearly at a loss. You will no doubt hunt me for revenge. Him is already aware of my presence within this body and will most likely jump at the earliest opportunity to punish me for my betrayal. And...my client probably has no use for me anymore after this much time."

"So you intend on staying?"

"Yes. I do. This...war is the only thing that gives me purpose anymore. It's...interesting, I'll admit... And I intend to see it through."

"Hmph, do what you want... But I'll be keeping an eye on you..."

"You have been observing me since that very day. I would not think you would actually stop now."

"..."

"One more question. Are you not going to tell him?"

"I...I have my reasons..."

"Do not tell you are-"

"I never said that!"

"-trying to protect him? But now I see there is something else."

"That's it! This conversation is over!"


	51. Eruption

**Chapter 51 - Eruption**

**Author Notes:**

- I had a case of déjà vu when writing this chapter. I'm not sure if the comedic situation towards the end was already used previously.

* * *

><p>"Kyle! Hey, man. Sorry to keep ya waiting. I hope you don't if I brought a friend."<p>

Ben had arrived just outside the park that surrounded Mojo Jojo's volcano. Behind him was a tall, black-haired teen dressed in a gray long sleeve with a black short sleeve overlaying it and blue jeans. He had a muscular build and his stature presented himself as intimidating to Kyle.

"Nice to meet ya." the boy greeted Kyle with a smirk. "So you're the guy Ben's been sneaking off with? If he wasn't dating Julie, I'd probably be calling you his boyfriend!"

"Kevin!"

"Oh yeah. I'm Kevin by the way. As long as you don't mess with me, I think we'll get along just fine."

"Likewise." Kyle replied with a grin.

"Heh. Don't push it." he teased.

"Alright," Ben began, "Gwen said you needed help finding another totem, right?"

"It somewhere in this park," Kyle replied, "but since it's being used as a containment cell by Mojo, I don't think I'd be able to get in easily."

"So Gwen wants us to get you inside?" Kevin asked. "Easy enough."

"Wait," Ben said, "Mojo Jojo's a genius supervillain. He's probably got some advanced defense system set up."

Kevin gave a small laugh. "The monkey may be a genius evil mastermind by this planet's standards, but he's got nothing on us."

"He still gonna be pretty upset about this..."

"C'mon, Ben. Technically, this _is_ public property."

"Actually observing the law now...?"

"Hey, this one's actually helping me for once."

"...Alright, let's go."

The park was originally at surface level, but certain events eventually lead to the property being sunk and encased with a protective glass barrier. Not long after the beginning of the war, Mojo Jojo began using it to contain captured monsters for his research. Only medium-sized and not overly powered creatures were kept inside as the glass was sturdy not enough to withstand the combined force of large powerful monsters.

Kevin led the group to one of the southeast elevators. There were two of these machines at each corner of the park. They basically looked like giant mechanical engines the size of two-story buildings that powered a small platform which would descend into the park. Right now, Mojo Jojo had reconfigured all of them to produce an electric energy shield to prevent monsters from escaping, particularly the avian varieties. Kevin propped open the elevator's control panel and immediately got to work. He seemed very knowledgeable about technology as it didn't take long for him to create a small opening within the shield that would allow the elevator to descend.

"That was easy enough." Kevin remarked. "C'mon. This hole will close once we go through."

One by one they boarded the elevator and descended below. Not many monsters were nearby so few noticed their arrival. Kyle was quick to take them out with his rifle before they could alert any others.

"Nice shot, kid." Kevin said impressed. "With any luck, we'll only run into small groups that'll go down quickly."

"Did Gwen say where specifically the totem is?" Ben asked.

"No," Kyle replied, "but I remember stumbling upon a weird rock back when I played here as a kid. If I hadn't tripped the way I did, I probably would've gotten my ankle stabbed... Anyway, it should be around the eastern end of the park."

The group searched for the strange rock going only by Kyle's vague memory. As they progressed further, it was inevitable that they encountered groups of monsters and were forced to fight. Kevin soon revealed to Kyle that he wielded special powers as well. By simply touching a surface, he was able to absorb energy from it and make it his own. Here, he was only able to utilize the trees. His entire body became composed out of wood as his strength was intensified.

"Kevin's half-Osmosian." Ben informed Kyle as they were back-to-back. "They can practically absorb any kind of matter. Though Kevin normally uses metal, but I guess wood will have to do for now."

Ben activated the Ultimatrix and transformed into Big Chill. The temperature cooled around him as he let out an icy breath that encased monsters within blocks of ice. Kyle and Kevin easily followed it up by smashing them to pieces. Eventually, the monsters ran off after seeing a majority of their allies decimated.

"While I'm Big Chill," Ben said, "I might as well scout ahead."

Utilizing another alien power, Ben's body glowed bright blue as it became transparent. He was still visible but solid objects would pass through his now intangible body. Ben then flew off while the others followed.

"So," Kevin awkwardly began, "you half-alien too?"

"I don't...think so..." Kyle never gave much thought to it. After all, knowledge of life on other planets wasn't as widespread when he was a kid. He never considered the possibility of having alien heritage. "Mom seemed pretty human and I never met my dad so I don't really have an answer..."

"Oh, uh... Sorry about that. Didn't mean to pull those strings..."

"It's alright. Anyway, my powers are demonic... Didn't Ben tell you that?"

"Yeah, but there's no telling when he's just messing with me... And what's with the black n' white hair thing?"

"White's natural. Black's the "old me", but it's when _he_ shows up."

"Hm... Yeah, definitely not any kind of alien I know of..."

Ben soon returned having apparently found what they were searching. He took them to a small clearing where a pointed rock was sticking out the ground. Kyle stepped forward and touched the surface. He felt a strange force that seemed to be drawing him towards it, but unlike the previous totem this one didn't automatically drain his life energy.

"I think this is it."

"Then we'll have to dig it up." Ben said. "Leave it to me!"

Ben touched the Ultimatrix symbol on his chest and was enveloped in the green light. He soon reemerged and was transformed into a large alien wearing yellow armor. This alien looked like a robot that took the form of a an armadillo.

"Armodrillo!" Ben exclaimed. Using his mechanized jackhammer-like arms, Ben began borrow into the ground around the totem. Within a few minutes, it would fully be excavated.

"No doubt Ben's racket will draw some attention." Kevin informed Kyle. "Keep an eye out." He was about to absorb a nearby tree when Kyle stopped him and held out his rifle.

"Custom-made Dexlabs armor?" Kyle asked with a devious expression.

Kevin grinned and gladly accepted. "I like the way you think, kid." Once absorbed, his body was coated in Dexlabs plating as he morphed his hand into a large mace head for a weapon.

Ben's drilling didn't take long to draw unwanted attention. A pack of Sickle Simians burst through the treetops from all directions. Kyle and Kevin agreed to work together seeing as how agile these creatures were. Kyle mainly clipped their wings with his rifle while Kevin mercilessly pounded them into oblivion. The few that managed to make it to Ben were either knocked aside or crushed by his jackhammers. Even if they did land a blow, Armodrillo's armor was left unscathed. The numbers soon proved a little too much for Kyle to handle as one monster managed to sink their burning teeth into his shoulder. Kevin was protected by his armor so he took over rifle duty while Kyle retreated to mend his wound. Riyos was able to quickly heal it, but the aching pain still remained.

The Sickle Simians were relentless as some got past Kevin's defense. Using his remaining good arm, Kyle drew his sword and quickly rushed over to Ben. There wasn't enough time get a clean hit so Kyle parried their attacks and sent them back. Afterward, Kevin was able to shoot them down and smash their head with his mace-hand. The attack pursued, but luckily the monsters' numbers were greatly reduced and posed little threat despite Kyle's handicap. It didn't take long for Ben to finish drilling and join in eliminating the remaining monsters.

"You all right, man?" Ben asked Kyle.

"I'm fine. Let's just get this over with..."

Kyle jumped into the pit Ben had dug. Standing in the center was the totem in its full glory. Slowly he touched the surface and felt an energy surge just like before. This time it was milder, but it was still excruciating on his body. Riyos took over halfway so Kyle would still be conscious and able to fight when the process was finished. Once filled, the totem released the Riyos-controlled Kyle from its hold and began glowing with a blue-red aura (Though when Kyle squinted, he could also see traces of green).

Ben hurried down to assist Riyos. Kevin merely stared down in awe, but he was quick to regain his composure as Kyle returned to normal though he was a little dazed.

"Man, that looked intense." Kevin remarked. "You sure that didn't take a number on you?"

"I told you. I'm fine... Just a little tired now is all..."

"Alright then. Let's just get out of here. The smell of monkey feces is really starting to get to me..."

The group headed back to the elevator where they first arrived. Kyle stayed back and kept watch while Ben and Kevin eliminated the aggressive monsters that happened to get in the way. Once safely back, Kevin went to hack the elevator's mainframe once again. This time it was taking much longer than before. After a few minutes, Kyle and Ben looked at each other, both thinking something strange was happening.

"Kevin?" Ben asked first. "Something wrong?"

"...Yup. Somebody's messin' with us..."

"What do you mean?"

"The backdoor I used earlier isn't there anymore. And there's all this security stuff that wasn't there last time. It's still easy to crack, but it's constantly switching configurations before I even touch it."

"And that means...?"

"Someone else is controlling the elevators from somewhere else."

"Dang it. I guess Mojo caught us with security cameras or something..."

"Can't you just use Big Chill to phase us out?" Kyle suggested.

"I used too much power with all those transformations. The Ultimatrix needs to recharge. I think that totem also helped drain it too. I should've still had enough juice for another transformation or two... Maybe when I scraped the totem as Armadrillo..."

"Hold on a minute." Kevin said. "If Mojo did catch us, he'd probably be lecturing us right now over the speakers with some long redundant speech to get out. I think someone else is behind this."

"Can't we just save it for later? Kyle's worn down and the Ultimatrix needs to recharge. Not everyone can get an energy boost anytime they want like you."

"Hey, you owe me! I've had to cover your butt from the times you've ditched the Commander for those little adventures of yours."

"Sigh. Fine, fine. Sorry, Kyle. You can still move right?"

"Yeah." Kyle replied. "I'll just shoot for now."

"Okay. C'mon, guys! Let's head for that Fusion Portal!"

"Wait, what?" Kevin quickly asked.

"Oh, I found a Fusion Portal when I was scouting for the totem as Big Chill."

"And you didn't tell us about it?" he asked in an annoyed tone.

"I thought the mission came first!"

"One of the few times where something big and unrelated to mission comes up and you _don't_ go after it!"

"Geez, sorry. What matters is that I found it, right? So let's get going!"

Ben lead the way as they headed towards the base of the volcano which was now surrounded by a metal ring-like platform. There had been a small moat directly below it, but it was eventually removed when it no longer served any useful purpose. For Mojo Jojo, it only attracted unwanted company in the form of children wanting to go for a swim and wasted valuable time to maintain it.

The Fusion Portal was tucked away in a cracked portion of a platform, just large enough to fit. Kevin kneeled beside the debris and determined the cause to be from a high-tech weapon judging by the edged burn marks since here were no monsters capable of creating explosions within the park. Without a word, Kevin touched the metal plating and absorbed it before finally proceeding inside. Kyle and Ben immediately followed afterward.

The inside of this lair was completely different from the others. Kyle and Ben began sweating from the intense heat once they reemerged. The latter seemed more desperate than ever for the Ultimatrix to transform him into Big Chill or another ice-themed alien. Kevin seemed unaffected though, or at least he didn't show it. The portal had taken the boys inside the volcano itself.

"Holy cow..." Ben groaned. "What of person would set up a lair in volcano?"

"Uh...Vulkanus?" Kevin replied sarcastically.

"You know what I mean! Can Fusions even survive this heat for long?"

"We'll find out soon enough."

The group followed the only pathway out of there, a narrow archway over the bubbling lava. They each went individually, careful as to not mess up. Ben and Kevin made it easily, but Kyle looked at it with difficulty. Ben was about suggest they turn back, but Kyle summoned one of his Nanos to set up a recall point at the other side and teleport him there.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Ben wondered aloud.

"I only have limited uses." Kyle informed him. "I can't keep on using it on you guys with how I am now."

The group continued into a slightly cooler tunnel that ascended the volcano. Occasional openings blocked by stalagmites and stalactites alike were the only indication of how far everyone had climbed. The tunnel spiraled around the conduit about three times before revealing another opening to a cliffside that hugged the wall until it reached the opposite end.

"Ugh... Where can the guy be?" Ben groaned as he removed his jacket. He felt like an idiot for not removing it earlier. Kyle did the same thing as well. "Any much longer and I'll probably be down to my underwear."

"Trust me." Kevin told him. "No one wants to see that."

"Hmph! And what about you? You sure you're not a walking swimming pool in that armor of yours now?"

Kyle thought about using his new found magic. Ice would definitely help in a place like this, but his zero experience with it discouraged him. He tried seeking advice from Riyos, but the demon could only offer some pointers. Every magic user had their own way of controlling their powers. Kyle would just have to experiment, and right now didn't seem like the best situation.

"Hold up." Kevin ordered. "I think I hear someone."

Kyle and Ben listened more closely and definitely heard the sound of a man yelling at someone. Up ahead, the group quickly passed through another tunnel that spiraled around the conduit. At the end, they found Mojo Jojo tied up and currently demanding his freedom.

"I demand that you release me, Mojo Jojo, of these ropes that currently restrain my movements so that I may tear you limb from limb! If you don't comply with my requests, my Monkey Minions will surely rescue me and together we will put an end to your plan!"

"Oh shut up!" his captor shouted angrily. Fusion Edd ordered one of his Sickle Simians at hit Mojo Jojo a few times with the blunt side of its blade. "This is what? The hundredth time you demanded me to free you? Won't a simple 'Let me go!' do? Jeez, if I wrote a book about you, ninety-nine percent would be dialogue..."

The Fusion still hadn't noticed boys as he went back to work on a large machine he was building with the help of his minions. It seemed to be some sort of large cannon by the looks of it and it was directly aimed at the underside of Mojo's residence.

"What's the plan?" Kyle asked.

Ben look at his wrist and grinned with delight. "The Ultimatrix is raring to go!"

"Then you take on the monsters." Kevin told him. "I'll take on the Fusion."

Ben nodded and transformed into Jetray. He quickly soared into the conduit blasting multiple Sickle Simians with his neuroshock blasts from his eyes. The monsters were caught off guard and were forced to retreat, but their agility helped to regroup and launch a counterattack. Ben quickly flew up and circled the area overhead while a horde of Sickle Simians were closely tailing him. He continued to fly as he fired more neuroshock blasts from his tail. The Sickle Simians were tricky when it came to striking them individually, but acting as a massive swarm together practically removed concern for this. One by one or sometimes even multiple at once, the Sickle Simians dropped out of the sky and plummeted into the lava below. Technically it didn't do much, but it was still a long climb to where everyone was and lava-soaked wings strangely didn't help.

Meanwhile, Kevin charged forward, having absorbed Kyle's rifle again, ready to strike Fusion Edd when he suddenly turned around with a strange gun in his hands. The Fusion fired a powerful blast that was enough to send Kevin flying. Kyle panicked as the boy slid towards the edge, but luckily Kevin didn't fall. Examining the injury more closely, Kyle was surprised to see Kevin's armor shattered, exposing his lower abdomen.

"Seems like this beauty works like a charm!" the Fusion Edd happily exclaimed. "Took you guys long enough! And if it isn't my old friend from Peach Creek! I heard you've been starting to mess up our plans all over the place now. What's next? You're gonna take on Lord Fuse himself? Ha!"

"Nice weapon." Kevin remarked, changing the subject. His slammed his fists together before morphing them into a mace again. "Mind if I take it when I finish pounding you?"

"Be my guest! I've been itching for someone to take out my frustration on after my embarrassment in Peach Creek! Blossom's been constantly shoving it in my face!"

Fusion Edd fired again as Kevin blocked with one of his hands. He was more prepared this time, but he still suffered the loss of a weapon when the shot shattered it. Kyle observed that the weapon required some time to recharge and immediately fired his rifle. Fusion Edd was prepared for this too however and raised a device that produced a bubbleshield around him. He laughed as Kevin attempted to force his way inside by beating the shield. Once his weapon was charged, he fired again, shattering the last of Kevin's weapons and forcing him to return to his normal form.

"What are you fools doing!" Mojo Jojo exclaimed. "He is only stalling for time!"

"We've got it!" Kevin angrily answered. He absorbed the rock below him and charge for another round of attacks.

"Oh, please." Fusion Edd whined. "Are you really that hard-headed...? Not literally of course..."

"Kyle! Get Mojo!"

Kyle nodded as he ran over to the hostage monkey and untied his ropes. Mojo didn't offer any thanks and immediately ordered Kyle to follow him to a nearby elevator that lead to his laboratory above.

"Hmph, whatever." Fusion Edd said. "I'm actually glad you're taking him away from me! Now where were we...? Oh yeah, trying out what did baby does at full power!"

Fusion Edd increased the shield's power to withstand Kevin's barrage and steadily aimed his gun. Once charged, he fired one more powerful blast. This time it was enough to shatter Kevin's armor completely as it started tearing away from Kevin's body. Knowing he would be obliterated if this continued, Kyle raised a Nano shield in front of Kevin and pulled him out of the Fusion's firing range. The Nano shield didn't last long either as it quickly dispersed a few seconds after Kyle and Kevin were safe. Not even type advantage against the Fusion couldn't help withstand the blast.

"Oh, poo..." Fusion Edd groaned. "That wasn't the kind of blast of was hoping for. Looks like I'll need his help after all..."

"You okay?" Kyle asked Kevin as he and Mojo assisted him to the elevator.

"Yeah... I just...need something...a bit more...sturdier..."

"Don't even bother." Mojo told him. "Any more blasts like that, even a minor one, and you'll collapse."

"...Kyle, can't you use your powers?"

"I don't even know how to use magic yet." he replied. "And two totems in a row quickly drained Riyos. He's been directing recovery to me rather than himself ever since..."

"Ugh! Then we'll just have to go with Plan B." Kevin looked up to see Ben still fighting the Sickle Simians. Their numbers numbers were drastically reduced now and Ben was currently dealing with the scattered remnants. "Ben! We're getting out here! You know what to do!"

"Alright! Go!"

Kyle helped Kevin inside the elevator while Mojo pushed the button that would take them up to his laboratory. Once there, the door opened to revealed a wrecked workspace. It seemed Mojo had been in an intense struggle in his own home before being captured.

"Curses, I really hate to do this," Mojo muttered, "but I'll have to abandon my research..."

Mojo ordered Kyle and Kevin to board one of his giant robots. There wasn't much space, but they were able to squeeze. Mojo activate the control panel as the robot burst through the roof and landed with a powerful shockwave just outside the park's boundaries.

"Uh, what exactly was the point of all that?" Kevin asked.

"...That machine was programmed to reawaken the volcano. There was no stopping it once that Fusion activated it..."

"But Ben still have his ice powers." Kyle pointed out. "Can't he just freeze it?"

"A machine of that caliber? I'm no expert on the capabilities of alien lifeforms, but I believe that is impossible."

"But will he get out in time?" he asked Kevin.

"Big Chill's got intangibility. He should be fine...as long as the watch didn't time out on him..."

It didn't take long for the ground to start shaking. Almost immediately Mojo's laboratory was consumed in a plume of lava. Flaming rocks followed as they began raining down upon the surface. Fortunately, any actual buildings were well out of range. Only the protective barrier was shattered, releasing most of the flying monsters who weren't already covered in molten lava. As the volcano was erupting, vog quickly began to cloud the sky and the city was soon plunged into darkness.

"Is there anything we can do?" Kyle asked.

"The city should be safe from the lava." Mojo replied. "My containment area should be enough to hold the lava, but if this continues the whole city will stay like this for weeks!"

Kevin stepped forward to examine the volcano more closely. "The Fusion was gonna sacrifice himself to activate that machine, right?"

"Yes. He intended to take my superior intellect with him!"

He grinned. "Big mistake..."

In a few seconds, a veil of what seemed like fire began shrouding the entire park. It was coming from directly above the volcano's mouth. Kyle assumed this was another effect of Fusion Edd's machine, but his body had another feeling. As the fire descended upon the park, everything it touched was immediately consumed in ice. Kyle and Mojo stared in awe as the volcano and everything else around it was trapped within an icy prison.

"What just happened?" Mojo wondered aloud.

"Ben happened." Kevin replied confidently.

"I thought you said Big Chill couldn't stop this?" Kyle pointed out.

"Mojo said it, not me. And yeah, I guess he was right. Big Chill might not be able to stop an active volcano, but..."

Kevin looked up to see a newer version of Big Chill land in front of him. His physical shape was still the same, but the color scheme was altered. Instead of black and blue, he was now black and red. His wings and antennae also has a more flaming appearance.

"You guys okay?" Ben asked with a more deeper tone of voice.

"We're fine." Kevin replied. "I was just worried you didn't have enough to go Ultimate."

"You and me both..." he said with relief as he transformed back to his human self. Ben then looked towards Mojo. "Uh, sorry about covering your place in ice."

Mojo surprisingly retained a calm expression. Kyle had expected him fall into a raging state once he saw his laboratory destroyed.

"I can...always rebuild... But how long until the ice thaws?"

"Give me some time. I can melt it, but we're gonna have a massive swimming pool on your hands... Or we could skip that part and make it rain on Townsville."

"Bubbles can take care of that detail... I must admit, Tennyson. You surpassed my expectations."

"Don't underestimate us." Kevin said with a smug look. "Anyway, Ben, I need your car keys."

Ben voice suddenly turned defensive. "What! No way! Last time I did that, you got me a ticket! My parents are _still_ bugging me about that!"

"Not fault you left an ID Mask in your glove compartment..."

"Wait... You found-...! I knew you were going through my stuff!"

"Just give me the keys. I don't think Kyle can walk back to his house and my ride's back in Nebula... Unless you want to make him?"

"...Sigh, fine..." Ben reluctantly tossed his car keys to Kevin. "But this time I'm coming after you if you're not back in half an hour!"

* * *

><p><em>Unknown location<em>

Fusion Edd slowly dragged himself upon the shores of a Fusion Matter-contaminated sea. His battle with Ben had left him heavily injured and barely able to move. As he struggled to move out of the water, he was stopped by another figure. Fusion Blossom merely stared down at him on the verge of cracking up.

"Not my fault!" Fusion Edd angrily exclaimed. "Nobody told me of Tennyson's ability to upgrade himself!"

"Whoops!" Fusion Blossom exclaimed trying to look innocent. "Did I forget to you?"

"...You did this just to spite me..."

She shrugged. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't... So how did you escape anyway?"

"I had a backup portal. Barely outran the lava..."

"Huh... But you still destroyed Mojo Jojo's laboratory, right?"

"Yes, but our 'friend' rescued Mojo before I could eliminate him..."

"That guy again? How did he know about us this time?"

"Actually...they all found us by accident..."

"Explain."

"I wasn't paying too much attention, but I caught him and his friends breaking into the containment zone. They were searching for something. I don't know what it was, but it required one of them to excavate it. Afterward, it looked like they were finished and attempted to leave. Unfortunately, breaking inside activated my little program. I intended for it to trap any unwanted visitors who caught wind of our plan, but it just _had_ to be those three..."

"Searching for something, huh?"

"Yes, now will you take me back already? I don't exactly want to crawl through miles of wasteland..."

"Sigh... Fine, grab on..."


	52. Extra: World Index

**World Glossary**

**Notes:**

Technically I only made this for myself so I can keep track of how much material I've incorporated from the Cartoon Network Universe. But since it's gotten so big, I thought I'd just throw it into the story as the index or glossary. Feel free to use it for whatever purpose while reading the story. Maybe you don't know who someone was because you never watched their show or maybe you don't know who I'm referring to when I use an alternative name. Feel free to suggest improvements to it as well such as more in-depth descriptions, altered canon, types of material like shows or monster names, etc.

This will be updated as new material or more information about a certain character is added to the story's universe (and this includes other stories within my fanon such as _FusionFall: Recollection_).

* * *

><p><em><strong>Abigail "Abby" Lincoln:<strong>_ Sector V's second-in-command and espionage expert

_**Absolution 2: **_TOM's current spaceship.

_**Ace D. Copular**__**: **_The leader of the Gangreen Gang and Belladonna's boyfriend.

_**Acorn Flats: **_The portion of Wilderness that houses the Squirrel Scout camp.

_**Adam Compleo:**_ One of Kyle's closest friends who suffered from a rare and fatal disease.

_**Adam Lyon:**_ A young boy who mistakenly got sent to a school for animals due to his last name.

_**Algonquin C**_**. **_**Lumpus**_**: **An adult talking moose and headmaster of Camp Kidney.

_**Agent Six:**_ The sixth most dangerous man on the planet currently working for Providence.

_**Amber: **_Kyle's friend who mysteriously disappeared after a tragic incident.

_**Ami: **_The usual drummer of Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi.

_**Arturo de la Guerra: **_The Spanish midget of the Gangreen Gang.

_**Bean Scout: **_Any resident of Camp Kidney.

_**Beemo: **__see BMO_

_**Belladonna: **_Buttercup's new alias as a punk rock star given to her by Ace while she has amnesia.

_**Bellwood: **_The city home to the famous Ben Tennyson.

_**Benjamin "Ben" Kirby Tennyson: **_A teenage hero known for saving the planet from alien invaders on multiple occasions.

_**Benson: **_A talking gumball machine who manages Townsville Park.

_**Big Billy: **__see William W. Williams_

_**Billy:**_ An idiotic boy from the city of Endsville who tricked the Grim Reaper into being his best friend.

_**Bloo:**_ Mac's mischievous Imaginary Friend and current resident at Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.

_**Blossom:**_ The self-proclaimed leader and more intelligent of the Powerpuff Girls.

_**Bobo Haha:**_ A talking chimpanzee EVO, member of Providence, and one of Rex's best friends.

_**Book of Prophecy: **_An ancient and powerful tome originally created to protect the planet from a foretold catastrophe.

_**Bonnibel "Bonnie":**_ _see Princess Bubblegum_

_**BMO: **_Finn and Jake's living video game system.

_**Bravo: **_The small tourist city known for its massive beach.

_**Bubbles:**_ The sweet, innocent, and most joyful of the Powerpuff Girls.

_**Bubby: **_A talking whale and Flapjack's mother figure.

_**Buck: **_Member of Time Squad.

_**Bullet:**_ An ordinary squirrel given the same powers as the Powerpuff Girls

_**Buttercup:**_ The tomboy and most rash and aggressive of the Powerpuff Girls.

_**Camp Kidney: **_A camp for anthropomorphic animals located in Prickly Pines.

_**Candy Cove: **_A small bay just outside Peach Creek and current residence of the Candy Pirates.

_**Candy Pirates: **_A group of stereotypical pirates who plunder candy rather than actual treasure.

_**Cap'n K'nuckles: **_One of the people Flapjack is searching for.

_**Cerberus: **_Guardian of the Underworld. He is Grim's former and one of Mandy's current pets.

_**City Hall (**__*as a slang term)__**: **_Refers to the municipal district of Townsville.

_**City Point: **_The residential district of Townsville and location of the Dizzy World theme park.

_**City Station: **_The central hub and business district of Townsville where all transportation routes connect.

_**Clam:**_ A talking Albino rhino and member of the Jelly Bean cabin.

_**Coco:**_ A strange Imaginary Friend whose language consists of only the word "coco".

_**Computress:**_ Dexter's personal computer given a robotic female body and assistant.

_**Coop: **_A young overweight man from Jersey City and current pilot of the Megas robot.

_**Courage: **_A talking cowardly dog living in the middle of Nowhere.

_**Cul-de-Sac: **_The street where most activity in Peach Creek takes place. It is protected by a massive cardboard fortress.

_**Daniel:**_ One of Kyle's closest friends who was murdered during a tragic incident.

_**Darklands: **_An ungoverned and extremely dangerous region between the two western continents. Currently serves as the headquarters of the Fusion army.

_**David: **_A Plumber stationed in the Pimpleback Mountains; named after David Wasson.

_**Dee Dee: **_Dexter's "stupid and annoying" older sister and expert ballerina.

_**Delightful Children from Down the Lane: **_A group of five extremely well-behaved children who speak in unison.

_**Demongo the Soul Taker:**_ A powerful demon and one of Aku's most loyal followers.

_**Dexlabs: **_Dexter's company, headquarters, and mass producer of all his inventions.

_**Dexter: **_A young science prodigy who founded Dexlabs before he even hit his teenage years.

_**Double D: **__see Edd_

_**Downtown: **_Refers to the cities of Townsville, Marquee, Orchid Bay, and Bravo due to their close proximity towards each other.

_**Drew (Blackwell) Saturday:**_ Zak's mother and cryptologist.

_**Ed: **_The dimwitted but absurdly strong member of the Eds.

_**Eds, the: **_The trio of boys infamous in Peach Creek for instituting all kinds of scams.

_**Edd: **_The intelligent but paranoid member of the Eds. He is more commonly known by the nickname, "Double D".

_**Eddy: **_The greedy leader and con artist of the Eds. He currently proclaims himself as King of the Cul-de-Sac.

_**Eduardo:**_ A monstrous but extremely friendly Imaginary Friend. He is also bilingual in Spanish and English.

_**Endsville: **_A dark, creepy, and mysterious city known for tons of strange phenomenon.

_**Exponentially Variegated Organism (EVO): **_An organism that has been mutated thanks to its nanites being activated.

_**Eustace Bagge: **_A farmer living in the middle of nowhere and husband to Muriel.

_**Father:**_ A pyro supervillain and archenemy of the Kids Next Door.

_**Finn the Human:**_ A young adventurer from the Land of Ooo and Jake the Dog's best friend.

_**Fiskerton "Fisk" Saturday: **_A legendary cryptid adopted by the Saturdays.

_**Flapjack: **_A child sailor boy from Stormalong Harbor.

_**Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends: **_A foster home for Imaginary Friends when their owners outgrow the need for them.

_**Frankie:**_ Caretaker of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends and granddaughter of the owner.

_**Fusions: **_Evil clones of various characters that served Lord Fuse.

_**Fuzzy Lumpkins: **_An aggressive and short-tempered beastly bumpkin who lives near Leaky Lake.

_**Genius Grove: **_hometown of Dexter and Mandark.

_**Glorft: **_A technologically-advanced alien race that is on the verge of conquering the planet in one version of its future.

_**Great Machine: **_The machine that manages every Nanocom across the globe.

_**Grim:**_ The Grim Reaper himself. He was tricked into being Billy and Mandy's best friend forever.

_**Grubber J. Gribberish**__**: **_The strange zombie-like member of the Gangreen Gang.

_**Gwen Tennyson:**_ Ben's more athletic and intelligent half-Anodite cousin.

_**Habitat: **_A town known for its large population of anthropomorphic animals.

_**Haunted Ridge: **_A mysterious region of the Pimpleback Mountains said to be plagued by supernatural phenomenon.

_**Hero Square: **_A monument in Sector V dedicated to fallen heroes.

_**Hi Five Ghost: **_A ghost working as a groundskeeper at Townsville Park.

_**Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: **_A famous touring rock band.

_**HIM:**_ The ultimate embodiment of pure evil and ruler of the Underworld.

_**Hoagie Pennywhistle Gilligan Jr.:**_ 2x4 Technology Officer of Sector V.

_**Ice King:**_ Ruler of the Ice Kingdom.

_**Imaginary Friend: **_A phenomenon that occurs when a child dreams of a friend and he becomes real.

_**Jake Spidermonkey:**_ A talking zoo spider monkey who is best friends with Adam Lyon.

_**Jake the Dog:**_ A magical talking dog and Finn's best friend.

_**Jamie:**_ Coop's laid back and more snobbish best friend.

_**Jersey City: **_A city constantly destroyed by Megas' battles against various aliens.

_**Jimmy Jones:**_ The young boy and fan who exposed Ben Tennyson identity as an alien hero.

_**Jinn: **_A Naljian who has a peculiar interest in humanity.

_**John: **_A Plumber stationed in the Pimpleback Mountains; named after John Dilworth.

_**Johnny Bravo: **_A man who travels with Marceline and Princess Bubblegum for a time.

_**Kaz:**_ Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi's manager.

_**Kenny Bonne:**_ Kyle's neighbor from across the hall.

_**Kevin Ethan Levin:**_ A former half-Osmosian criminal. He is now a member of Ben's team and Gwen's boyfriend.

_**Kids Next Door (KND): **_An organization of children twelve years and under who combat adult tyranny.

_**Kiva: **_A woman from a post-apocalyptic future who is trapped in the present timeline after locating Megas.

_**Komodo: **_The Saturdays' genetically altered Komodo dragon.

_**Kyle Ventosus:**_ A loner boy from the city of Townsville.

_**Kuki Sanban:**_ Sector V's medical specialist and diviionary tactics expert.

_**Lady Rainicorn:**_ Princess Bubblegum's steed and Jake's girlfriend.

_**Lance (OC): **_An Urban Ranger stationed in Prickly Pines.

_**Larry 3000:**_ Robot member of Time Squad.

_**Lazlo:**_ A talking Brazilian spider monkey and leader of the Jelly Bean cabin.

_**Lee Kanker:**_ The leader and oldest of the Kanker sisters.

_**Len: **_A Plumber station in the Pimpleback Mountains under Gwen.

_**Lil' Arturo: **__see Arturo de la Guerra_

_**Lord Fuse: **_The powerful ruler of Planet Fusion.

_**Mac:**_ A young boy who frequently visits Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.

_**Mandark:**_ Dexter's long-time rival and founder of Mandark Industries.

_**Mandark Industries: **_A company created to rival Dexlabs.

_**Mandy:**_ A cold, dark, and manipulative girl from Endsville who tricked the Grim Reaper into being her best friend.

_**Marceline the Vampire Queen:**_ a relatively friendly teenage vampire who likes to play her axe.

_**Marie Kanker:**_ The more crafty and resourceful member of the Kanker sisters.

_**Marquee: **_A coastal city known for its artistic and musical talents.

_**Max Tennyson:**_ An un-retired member of the Plumbers and Ben and Gwen's grandfather.

_**Maxwell: **_A Plumber stationed in the Pimpleback Mountains; named after Maxwell Atoms.

_**May Kanker:**_ The youngest and more dimwitted of the Kanker sisters.

_**Mayor: **_The mayor of Townsville responsible for calling the Powerpuff Girls when trouble arises.

_**Megas: **_An advanced giant robot stolen from the Glorft and personally modified by Coop.

_**Mojo Jojo: **_A supervillain chimpanzee mutated as a result from the explosion that created the Powerpuff Girls.

_**Morbucks Towers**__ (*as a slang term)__**: **_Refers to the new district of Townsville still largely under construction.

_**Morbucks Towers: **_The still under construction site where four skyscrapers are supposed to be erected.

_**Mordecai: **_A talking blue jay working as a groundskeeper at Townsville Park.

_**Mount Blackhead: **_A large mountain that house a Kids Next Door fortress and serves as the gateway into the southern part of the Twisted Forest

_**Mr. Herriman:**_ A gentleman rabbit Imaginary Friend and chairman of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.

_**Mitch "**__**Muscle Man**__**" Sorrenstein: **_A groundskeeper at Townsville Park.

_**Muriel Bagge: **_A kind elderly woman who adopted Courage and lives with her husband in the middle of Nowhere.

_**Nebula: **_The country's major space port and research center. It also refers to the small town right next to it.

_**Nigel Uno:**_ The leader of Sector V and only Aetas-member of the Galactic Kids Next Door.

_**Numbuh 1:**_ _see Nigel Uno_

_**Numbuh 108: **_A female spy operative stationed in Sector V.

_**Numbuh 2:**_ _see Hoagie Pennywhistle Gilligan Jr._

_**Numbuh 236: **_A KND operative; named after Ben Diskin.

_**Numbuh 3:**_ _see Kuki Sanban_

_**Numbuh 311: **_An operative stationed in City Point.

_**Numbuh 4:**_ _see Wallabee Beatles_

_**Numbuh 5:**_ _see Abigail Lincoln_

_**Numbuh 688: **_An operative in charge of a KND air fleet.

_**Ooo: **_A post-apocalyptic version of the planet's future. Finn and those related to him are from this land.

_**Orchid Bay: **_A city where the magical realm and human world are intertwined.

_**Otto:**_ Member of Time Squad.

_**Peach Creek:**_ A suburban town now famous for housing a massive trade center and marketplace.

_**Pimpleback Mountains: **_A dark, cloudy area of the Wilderness mainly used for mining operations.

_**Plumbers: **_An intergalactic organization of officers maintaining law across the universe.

_**Pokey Oaks: **_A suburban town home to the Powerpuff Girls.

_**Pops Maellard: **_A gentleman working on his father's property, Townsville Park.

_**Prickly Pines: **_The area of the Wilderness between Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends and Mount Blackhead.

_**Princess Bubblegum:**_ The princess of the Candy Kingdom.

_**Princess Morbucks: **_The spoiled heir to the Morbucks fortune aspiring to finally be a Powerpuff Girl.

_**Professor Paradox: **_A strange time-traveling scientist who seems to be manipulating events around him.

_**Professor Utonium:**_ A scientist known for being the creator and father of the Powerpuff Girls.

_**Providence: **_A organization created to capture EVOs.

_**Raj:**_ A talking Indian elephant and member of the Jelly Bean cabin.

_**Rebecca Holiday: **_Providence's chief research officer.

_**Rex Salazar:**_ A special EVO who works with Providence.

_**Rigby: **_A talking raccoon working as a groundskeeper at Townsville Park.

_**Riyos: **_A renegade demon who currently resides inside Kyle's body.

_**Runty: **_Billy's pet Fusion Spawn.

_**Samurai Jack:**_ A samurai from the ancient past transported into the future.

_**Sanford D. Ingleberry: **__see Snake_

_**SARA: **_A female artificial intelligence created by TOM.

_**SCAMPER: **_A KND airship used mainly for transportation.

_**Scotsman: **_A large, burly, rash, yet friendly clansman who helps out Samurai Jack at times.

_**Sector V: **_A suburban town where a Kids Next Door headquarters is located.

_**Skips: **_An immortal yeti who works as a groundskeeper at Townsville Park.

_**Slinkman:**_ A talking banana slug and scoutmaster's assistant at Camp Kidney.

_**Solomon "Doc" Saturday: **_Zak's father and cryptologist.

_**Snake: **_The skinny and snake-like member of the Gangreen Gang.

_**Special Alien Capture Team: **_A secretive black-ops organization dedicated to capturing alien lifeforms.

_**Squirrel Scouts: **_A group of all female campers who have gone missing.

_**Stickybeard:**_ The captain of the Candy Pirates.

_**Stormalong Harbor: **_A large port city built completely on wooden supports in the middle of the ocean.

_**Sunken Mall: **_The popular hangout in Townsville Center for people who want to take their minds off the invasion.

_**Sunny Bridges Auditorium:**_ A grand auditorium in Marquee that serves as the stage for all sorts of musical concerts.

_**Sweet Revenge: **_The flagship of the Candy Pirates.

_**Toilenator:**_ A normally ineffectual toilet-themed supervillain

_**Toonami Operations Module (TOM):**_ A humanoid robot and former television block host. He currently serves as a bounty hunter and captain of the _Absolution 2_.

_**Townsville: **_A city constantly besieged by numerous criminals and supervillains who are eventually stopped by the Powerpuff Girls. It is now the central base of operations for many organizations.

_**Townsville Center: **_ The main shopping district of Townsville that houses the famous Sunken Mall.

_**Townsville Park: **_A massive park m by Benson and maintained by his groundskeepers.

_**Ultimatrix: **_The watch or gauntlet-like device that allows Ben to transform into a variety of aliens.

_**Urban Rangers: **_A suburban group of boy scouts mainly centered in Peach Creek

_**Vilgax:**_ A ruthless intergalactic conqueror and arch nemesis to Ben Tennyson.

_**Wallabee "Wally" Beatles: **_Sector V's combat and heavy weapons expert.

_**White Knight:**_ The reclusive leader of Providence.

_**William W. Williams: **_The dimwitted cyclops of the Gangreen Gang.

_**Wilt:**_ An extremely friendly Imaginary Friend and pro basketball player.

_**Yumi: **_The usual guitarist of Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi.

_**Zak Saturday: **_Member of Ben, Numbuh 2, and Rex's gaming circle.

_**Zon: **_The Saturdays' pterosaur.


End file.
